Bishonen and Bishoujo!
by Songwind
Summary: Bishies! Catch yer fave anime chars! A girl clicks on this website, thinking it's a fun virtual game. Boy will she be surprised! Questions answered!
1. Default Chapter

Bishonen And Bishujo  
By Songwind  
Notes- This is about teens who somehow end up in a world where they can capture and interact with their favorite anime, video game, and/or book characters. I've been putting up various versions of this, but I hope you like this one. Please, please review!!  
DISCLAIMER- The Bishonen and Bishujo in this fic do NOT belong to me. They belong to which ever rich guy or girl came up with them. Thank you.   
~*~  
  
Chapter One- What on Earth?! Or Rather, What NOT On Earth?!  
  
A cry rang out through the woods, then a thud as someone fell to the ground, beaten and nearly lifeless. He twitched slightly, barely sensing the presence of the one standing over him. That one wasn't gloating, wasn't sneering at him, but merely seemed thoughtful and faintly satisfied. That scared him more than gloating would have. At least then he would have known what this being, this creature, was thinking as she defeated him and watched him in his pain.  
  
She remained silent and thoughtful for a while as he struggled to remain conscious. Then she knelt and gently touched his head. He whimpered. "You'll be perfect," she said in a quiet tone that sent him into shivers that were unstoppable. He'd heard trainers before they caught their quarry. They never sounded this... frightening. She sounded like a scientist that just found a specimen to inspect, to take apart and see what happens inside it.   
  
Then, something smacked him on the back. He barely had time to register that fact before he fell into darkness.  
  
The figure remained kneeling, holding the peculiar black and silver ball in her hand, then slipped it into a pocket and stood to walk away. "Yes, he'll be perfect," she murmured.  
  
~*~   
  
"I am so BORED!"   
  
Anya was stretched out on her bed, glaring up at the ceiling as she tossed a ball up into the air and catching it with the same hand. She had been doing that for at least a quarter of an hour. And it was driving her insane.  
  
"But what else can I do?" she muttered. "Nothing but reruns on TV, and all shows I hate. No new movies at the theatre OR the store. Bored to death with my games. No new books. NO HOMEWORK. What ever happened to something FUN happening on summer vacation?!"  
  
She didn't catch the ball this time- instead, it hit her square on the head.   
  
"OW!" She sat up and picked it up, rubbing her head. "OK, so I'm whining. That still doesn't give a stress ball the right to hit me!"  
  
The ball ignored her. She threw it up into the air one more time before dropping it onto the ground beside the bed. Then she stared hopelessly out the window.  
  
"And what ever happened to a sunny summer vacation?" she muttered. "It's been raining for the past two days. So much for seeing friends... Huuuuh." She stretched and lay back, staring again at the ceiling. "Maybe I can draw something.. nah, my drawing sucks. Maybe... no. Um- no. No. Definitely not. What about- nah, never mind. Nope. Boring. AGH! I'm going- wait." She sat up and snapped her fingers. "I'll check my email! Maybe someone will have sent me something. Even five minutes of not being bored would be great!"  
  
With that thought in mind she jumped off the bed and trotted out into the living room, whistling a little at the thought of something to do. She turned on the computer and sat on the chair near it, fidgeting a little as she waited for it to boot up.   
  
Finally, it was finished and she clicked on the internet icon. The home screen popped up, and she signed into her email.  
  
"HA! I knew someone would email me something! I got three emails, YES!" She punched the air enthusiastically. "Now let's see... hmm."  
  
The first was a joke email from her grandmother. Yet another list of 'dumb blonde' jokes. She sighed at them. "I would love to see a 'dumb redhead' or 'dumb brunette' sometime," she muttered. "It would be a nice change."  
  
Not that she was blonde- she had slightly curled, dark brown hair that reached her shoulders. It was just enough to tie into a semi-decent ponytail. For now it was loose, and strands of it were continuously making their way across her eyes or itching her nose to death. She brushed one such strand away from her face and read the joke email anyway. A couple were actually pretty good.  
  
The next was an email from a friend across the country. Anya smiled. "I've been wondering when you'd email me," she told the computer. It didn't reply. Anya went on to read the email itself. The friend complained also about being bored, wished fervently a new book or other would come out already, and mentioned that she DID manage to get a new DVD.  
  
Anya smiled. "This is so cool. I'm finally getting something to do- huh?" she paused in confusion. "Who's this?"  
  
The next email didn't have a name or address anywhere on it. That was sort of unnerving. Was it a virus email? She scrolled down to look at the content somewhat cautiously.  
  
"Hmm? Just a site address... Well, why not? Got nothing else to do." She hit the link to it.  
  
Again, she blinked. "Whoa, what the heck is this? A Pokemon site? And how on earth did they get my email?"  
  
There was a huge picture of a black and silver ball that looked suspiciously like a Poke-ball from named show at the top, and the word "Bishonen!" below it. Below that was a picture of an anime character, and a definition.  
  
"Bishonen... the definition has expanded due to fangirls worldwide," she read. "It generally means any anime guy that's cute and somewhat feminine, but masculine characters can and are included in this group of anime. Examples, Goku from DBZ and Quatre from Gundam Wing... Oh! Cool!"  
  
She looked below that and there was a graphic of a girl about her age winking and holding the same ball that was shown above. Then below that was another bit of writing. Interested, she read it.  
  
"Here is where you can combine Pokemon and Bishonen you love. You can capture them with Bish-Balls (shown here) and take care of them as you wish. Like Pokemon, you may train them to battle, to protect you or just to have around when you want company. Oh, if only," Anya sighed. "I would love it if that was real. I don't know if the Bishonen in question would, though..."   
  
Anya couldn't really understand why she kept reading. It might have just been because it was a site she hadn't seen before, but she'd read her share of Mary Sues online! This really couldn't be that different from one...  
  
"Join our group of trainers and enjoy your own Bishonen! Fight in gyms, train in classrooms, or just wander the world of Bishonen!"  
  
Anya considered that. "Must mean a virtual world sorta thing," she mused. "Well, why not? Got nothing else to do, that's for sure!"  
  
She looked a little below that. "Ah..."  
  
There was a link that said, "Make Me a Trainer!"  
  
Anya grinned. "Well, this should be interesting, whatever it is," she said, and clicked on it. There was an odd buzzing sound. "Eh?" She blinked as the screen faded out slowly, as though the computer was dying. "What's... is something wrong with the computer?"  
  
She made a move to take a look and realized she was unable to move much. In fact, she couldn't take her eyes off the screen. She couldn't even blink now. Not even twitch a bit. Her nose was itching... The screen was swirling into colors of greens and blues, reds and yellows and oranges, and purples and pinks... white and black... and gray...  
  
~*~  
  
"Hey, hey, are you OK?!"  
  
"Wha... what?" Anya struggled to open her eyes. They felt very sandy with sleep.  
  
"Come on, get up! What happened?"  
  
Finally she got them opened and focused on a female figure standing over her, looking very concerned. The girl was maybe a year or two older than her, with short, dark red hair and sparkling blue eyes. She was wearing a white jacket over a green tank top and jean shorts, and some odd boots that looked like they came from the Army or something. She also wore an odd belt with balls on it...  
  
"Eh?" Anya managed.  
  
"Are you alright? I found you lying there..."   
  
"I'm fine..." She glanced around, then gasped. "Where AM I?!"  
  
The computer, the chair, the room itself was gone. She was lying on some grass among some huge trees, and NOTHING looked familiar.  
  
"Oh, you're new," the girl said with some obvious relief. "I was wondering why you didn't have anything with you. Sometimes you're robbed, but..." she shrugged. "You didn't look like you were robbed."  
  
"New? Where am I? Who are you?" Anya demanded, finding her voice again.  
  
"Yes, new. I'm Kara. You're in the Bishonen world." Kara grinned at the disbelief on Anya's face. "Ah, you thought it was only a virtual thing? Nope, it's all real, and it's all good. Here." She held out a hand, and Anya took it. Kara pulled her to her feet with surprising strength. "There ya go."  
  
"Bishonen world?" Anya repeated dumbly.  
  
"Yup. In other words, an otaku's heaven!" Kara rolled her eyes in exaggerated happiness. "Well, come on. I better get you to town for orientation."  
  
"For what? What's going on?"   
  
Kara stopped and gave her a look of sympathy. "I'd forgotten what it was like to show up for the first time," she murmured. She put a hand on Anya's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it. Everything will be explained. Just come with me, OK? I can take you to someone who can explain all the stuff you'll need."  
  
Well, there didn't seem to be anything else to do. Anya nodded, still feeling dazed. How could this be possible? Was this a joke? If it was, it was a really, really, good one!   
  
"Come on." Kara turned and started walking.  
  
Anya stood there for a moment, staring blankly up at the huge trees, then followed after her acquaintance. Then Kara paused and looked at her quizzically. "Oh yeah, what's your name?"  
  
"Anya," the teen replied.  
  
"Right. Nice to meet you. Now let's go." Kara continued walking. Anya couldn't do anything but follow.  
  
~*~  
  
They walked for about a half hour before ending up on a paved road that went into what seemed to be a village. Anya frowned slightly at the sign at the entrance. "Epoh city?" she questioned.  
  
"Yep. C'mon. The orientation room's right over here. Don't worry, there should be at least one other girl or guy in there with you, so you won't be alone. I myself was with about five other people when I got here. And the instructor here's real nice. He's a little iffy, but that's to be expected."  
  
Anya continued to follow her new acquaintance through the entrance into the village, where again she stopped. And stared. And stared some more.  
  
"Kara," she whispered. "Is it me, or is that- is that-"  
  
Kara blinked at her, then looked at where she was looking. "Yeah, that's Yusuke," she said with a shrug. "He's a Bishonen. I think he's Tammy's."  
  
Anya blinked at the sight before her. There was the anime character Yusuke, looking faintly bored and yawning a little. He seeemed to be waiting for something. And there was no mistaking who he was- he was every inch the character she thought he was.  
  
"Come ON, or we'll never get you to orientation, and you'll still be confused." Kara started walking past the Bishonen in question. "Hey, Yusuke."  
  
He snorted. "Nice outfit."  
  
"Careful, bud. You know how Tam hates it when you attempt to flirt."  
  
"Who's flirting?" He then glanced at Anya. "Who's your friend?"  
  
"Newbie."  
  
"Hn. Lucky day, eh?"  
  
"Shut up and get back to your trainer."  
  
"Don't you mean shut up and WAIT for your trainer? I've been standing on my damn feet for twenty minutes and she hasn't come out yet. What the HELL is she doing in there?" he jerked a thumb behind him.  
  
"She's probably talking to someone."  
  
"I didn't know using the bathroom was a social occasion."  
  
"Well it is. So sit if you're tired. C'mon, Anya."  
  
Anya obediently followed Kara as Yusuke snorted at them again, then he actually slid down into a sitting position muttering.  
  
"Well, that's Yusuke," Kara said with a grin. "What do you think? Every inch of himself, wouldn't you say?"  
  
"Uh... yeah," Anya said.  
  
"Now me, I like Hiei," Kara continued. "The whole short and hot demon thing gets to me more than anything else. Maybe Kurama's a demon and SURE he's cute but he's taller than me!"  
  
Anya blinked a little. "They're... real."   
  
"Yep. And you'll get to deal with them soon enough, I think."  
  
They continued walking, Kara cheerfully humming, and Anya in a daze. Bishonen were REAL. You could talk and they'd talk BACK. Wow.  
  
She was brought out of her daze when she saw another shock. There was another familiar Bishonen, but he was dressed... drastically different than usual. In fact, he was dressed like a hippie. And he was following a girl that also looked like a hippie.  
  
Well... no. It wasn't a girl, it was a woman. She seemed to be in her early thirties, or maybe late twenties.   
  
Kara snorted. "That's one of the older trainers. Katy's a hippie, been one forever, so she's gotten her Bishies into it too."  
  
Anya blinked. "But... Duo as a hippie?"   
  
"I know, you should see her Heero. That's just SCARY."  
  
Anya felt torn between shock, and wanting to laugh hysterically. Heero as a hippie? That WAS scary to think about.   
  
They passed said hippies and the two waved at them enthusiastically. "Hey Kara, newbie?" the woman- Katy- said with a smile.  
  
"Yeah. Taking her to orientation."  
  
"Ah. Welcome, young one. Hope you enjoy it here." She continued by. Then Duo paused to wink and give a peace sign.   
  
"Shinigami the peaceful, man!" he said with an exaggerated drawling tone. Then he grinned. "C'ya later, ladies!" he said in a more normal voice. Then he scampered after his trainer.  
  
Anya blinked. "I think I'm scarred for life."  
  
"Bishonen tend after their trainers after a while. Duo was Katy's first Bishonen, so they've been together a while."  
  
Finally, they reached a building with 'Orientation' on the front of it. Kara stopped in front of it and gestured at the building.  
  
"Here, you'll get your explanations, your options, and your gear. Just go on in, they know how to take care of new ones. I'll be around, OK? Later."  
  
Before Anya could say anything, the redhead was nowhere to be seen. "Uh, hey!" she called helplessly. Then she sighed, and turned to stare up at the building. "This is what I get for being bored," she muttered. "Oh well, might as well look..." She reached out to open the door.  
  
~*~   
  
Well, that's all for the first chapter! Hope you liked! No, I have nothing against hippies! They are coolies people! But can you imagine HEERO as a hippie? (shudders) That's too scary for thought. Later! 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two- Welcome to Orientation! Come And Get Your Explanations!  
Notes- Hey cool, my chapter title rhymed!  
  
~*~  
  
Anya entered the building feeling incredibly nervous. If what the girl Kara had said was true, then she was in an entirely different world, and she wouldn't know anyone here. Well, she'd know the Bishonen by sight, but they didn't know her and probably couldn't care less about her. So no help there. She was on her own.   
  
She walked into the lobby, which looked like any lobby in a business office. There were plenty of cushioned chairs and couches. There were a couple other girls and one guy there. The guy was off by himself watching, and the girls were paired in twos, talking quietly.  
  
Anya looked around for anyone behind a desk, and approached a woman that fit that thought. "Excuse me," she began.  
  
"Another new one? Please sit down, dear. The instructor's finishing up his last shift. You'll be going in soon, just a few moments."  
  
"Uh, thanks." Anya turned and noticed the other girls and the guy were all watching her curiously. She walked over and sat somewhere between the guy and the girls.   
  
"Hey, so you're new too?" one of the girls asked quietly. She too had brown hair, though it was lighter, and much, much longer. Anya wondered how the girl could stand that length of hair, and having it loose too! She wore some glasses, and wore a nice blue blouse and some khakis.   
  
Anya nodded a little. The girl sighed in relief.  
  
"What is going ON? This guy shows up out of nowhere and wakes me up, and leads me here and dumps me off without a word!"  
  
"Mine was a girl," Anya said. "She told me we're in the Bishonen world."  
  
"No way. That website?"  
  
"So you clicked on it too?" asked a blonde sitting nearby. She wore a miniskirt and a T-shirt with "She-devil" on it. She was seated quite properly on the edge of her seat.  
  
"Yeah," Anya said.  
  
"This is too weird. I knew I saw a Duo out there!"  
  
"The hippie?" Anya asked.  
  
"Yeah. Isn't that scary? I thought he was just a guy who looked like Duo, but if we're really in another world, you never know..."  
  
"I think we are in another world," the brown-haired girl said. "If we aren't, this is the best prank I've ever seen."  
  
"Yeah, a worldwide prank," the blonde agreed.   
  
They all fell silent as a door opened and three guys and one girl walked out from it, clutching the odd balls Anya had seen on Kara's belt. Now that she thought about it, she saw them on that website, too...  
  
After them came a man who seemed to be in his forties or fifties. His hair was streaked with silver, and he wore a white lab coat and some comfortable looking not-quite-blue-jeans and a T-shirt underneath it. He shifted his glasses on his nose and looked at them. "Come along, then. We mustn't waste time!" he said in a surprisingly high voice.  
  
It wasn't high enough to be annoying, but it was high enough to shock Anya yet again. She'd expected a deep voice from such a dignified looking man. Then again, things weren't what they seemed in other worlds...  
  
They obediently got up and walked into the room with the man. It was set up like a classroom, but a very small one. It was meant to hold about fifteen kids and a teacher, maybe.   
  
"Take a seat at the front, please. There are very few of you," the man said. Obediently, they all did. "Now, I am Professor Dion. I'm here to explain what's happened to you."  
  
Anya found herself leaning forward on her desk, and noticed out of the corner of her eyes that the others were doing the same, including the guy.   
  
"You all were emailed a new site on the internet, a Bishonen- or Bishujo- site" he nodded at the guy, who nodded back. "And you clicked on 'make me a trainer'. The next thing you knew, you were here, and you had guides showing you here. Am I right?"  
  
Anya nodded slowly.  
  
"This all happened without any explanations, I take it? Well. You are here to become actual trainers of actual Bishonen and Bishujo. I hope you all read the definitions. Bishonen count as male characters from anime, video games, or books. We used to have Bishonen running around that resembled those from the Old World, Lance Bass for a mild example. But they are all extinct. Perhaps they died out because he's not quite as popular anymore..." The Professor shrugged.  
  
Anya blinked.   
  
"So. Bishujo are the same thing, except they are obviously female. They exist in this world like you and me. They have their own hidden cities. They used to be open to everyone, but that was before humans showed up. They are hidden so we don't tear the world apart and make them ALL extinct. Anyhow, they have their cities and we have ours. The world for the most part is split up fairly equally. We made a pact with the Bishies of the world decades ago that we would never drive them into primitive and/or inhumane conditions."  
  
That made sense. It would be VERY bad to have a powerful Bishonen come after you for breaking a pact like that. Anya nodded with the others.  
  
"However, we have created technology to capture these Bishonen and Bishujo for battling, protection, or just for their company. The Bishonen and Bishujo don't really mind. As long as the trainer is open minded and bright, they are content. Of course, an attractive one would be nice too. Trainers have been known to, ah, stay with their Bishonen or Bishujo."  
  
"You mean we're COMPATIBLE with them?" the blonde blurted out.  
  
The man gave her an amused look. "Yes. There are a couple half-Bishies out in the world. They're easily confused as full-Bishies. Anyway..."  
  
Anya shot the blonde a somewhat sour look. /So that's where the dumb blonde jokes show up,/ she thought. /Why didn't, say, I ask that, or the guy?/  
  
"I want to go over a couple rules with you, but first. Who wants to stay a trainer? You may go home right now if you want... You can go home at any time... No one wants to go? Good." The Professor nodded in approval. "First rule- do NOT go in search of the Bishonen's cities. They are private. Do NOT ask your Bishonen about them either, they will not answer even under torture. As an add on to that, NEVER capture a Chibi."  
  
Anya blinked. "Sir, what do you mean by that?" she asked politely.  
  
"There are a couple stages the Bishonen and Bishujo go through. Instead of us, they... evolve, you could say. They go from 'Chibi' to 'San' to 'Sama' stage. You may capture Sans or Samas, but NO Chibis unless you are given consent by their parents. Capturing Chibis is like kidnapping a kid."  
  
Everyone nodded fervently.  
  
"Second rule. To capture Bishonen or Bishujo, you use these Bish-Balls." Dion held up one of the silver and black balls. "Basically it's like Pokemon, if any of you have seen that show. You throw it and catch them. If you want to release them, simply let them out of it, open the ball manually, and snap it in half. The bond between you and your Bishie will disappear, and he or she will be free to go. But do NOT release ALL of your Bishies unless you want to go home that moment."  
  
The group of teens nodded again together.   
  
"Rule three. Never leave your Bishonen more than three miles away from you. If you must, only do so in emergencies and for VERY short periods of time. As you will see shortly, you are bonded to your Bishonen by your blood. If they cannot reach you and you cannot reach them, they will go mad, possibly die after forty-eight hours. Is that CLEAR? Forty-eight hours, three miles."  
  
Anya felt herself nodding so hard that her head was about to fall off of her head.  
  
Again, Dion nodded in approval. "Good. Those are the most important of all the rules. Now, fourth thing. This is a Dex." He held up what looked like a cell-phone. "It's a phone and an encyclopedia in one. It tells you general information about any Bishonen or Bishujo THAT IS KNOWN, and you can contact other trainers on these. Understand?"  
  
The nodding was much calmer this time.  
  
"Wonderful! We're moving right along! Now, you may capture, and trade all the Bishies you want. We'll give you your first twenty Bish-Balls, but after that you'll have to go to a shop to make more. The belts you'll get will adjust to hold about sixty balls at once. You'll have to either get another belt to store more or find another way to do it. I think that's all the basics. The rest is feed them regularly- or have them feed themselves- and wash, and drink water, that sort of thing. Oh, and if they are injured, take them to a Hospital Center! You can't miss them, they've always got ads for healing Bishies in the windows for everyone to see!"  
  
The Professor walked over to a cabinet and pulled out four belts, one by one, empty without any balls yet. Then he pulled out more Dex, and what looked to be four needles.  
  
"Now, here are your belts and Dexes. I'll need to take blood samples of you all."  
  
"How come?" the guy spoke for the first time.  
  
"Because we use your blood in making the Bish-Balls. That way you'll just KNOW it's yours if it gets lost. And it links you much more closely to your Bishies. Now, let's line up."  
  
The group warily stood up, shuffling their feet and moving very slowly. Which left Anya as the first in line. She shot an annoyed look at the others, who only watched innocently as the Professor indicated she hold out an arm.  
  
She obeyed, and glanced away as the needle came close. She felt a sharp pinch, then a little sting, then nothing. She glanced back curiously to see the Professor walk over to the cabinet again and pull out an odd looking machine. He beckoned to her, and put the belt in it. Then he put the needle in another part, and turned it on.  
  
There were some odd whirring noises as he closed it up. They waited for about a minute, then the whirring stopped, and he pulled the belt out again. However, this time it had Bish-Balls on it.  
  
Anya sucked in a breath in surprise as she took the belt from him and looked at it wonderingly. It felt RIGHT holding it. It probably would be more right if she put it on... She did so, and felt immensely better. "Ah."  
  
The Professor nodded in approval, handed her a Dex, and beckoned to the next girl.  
  
When they all had their belts of Bish-Balls and their Dexes, he said, "Well, that's that. You're on your own. Remember, if you want to go home at any time, just release all your Bishonen. Any questions?"  
  
"I have one," Anya said.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"How do we let our parents know we're fine?"  
  
"They don't know you exist right now," he said.  
  
Everyone blinked. "Huh?"  
  
"Well, it's sort of complicated. See, to be able to let you go home, but not worry anyone back home, you are going through life normally there, but you're not there. You can't exist in two planes. You never were here before until you got here. Now you won't have ever existed back home until you go back."  
  
"You mean if we went back no one would know us anymore?!" the blonde demanded.  
  
/Ah, a good question,/ Anya thought.   
  
"No. You will age naturally here, so when you go back, enough time will have passed so that you will be exactly the same age back home as you are here. So right now, yes, your parents and friends don't know you exist. When you get back there, however, you'll still be there like you never left." He shrugged.  
  
Anya still felt confused, but she didn't really feel like questioning the man further. After all, professors tended to get very confusing if you asked them too much. "OK," she said simply.  
  
"Are we all set, then? Good. You have two weeks to capture your first Bishonen or Bishujo, or you'll go home automatically. Got it all?"  
  
Anya nodded with the others.  
  
"Then go out! Your journey awaits! Oh, and just tell people here you're a newbie and you'll get all your traveling supplies you need. Bye!" He opened the door and proceeded to shoo them all out of the room. When they all were outside, he closed the door.  
  
The group blinked, then looked at each other, confused. "Well..." the blonde said slowly. "I'm Ashley."  
  
"Anya."  
  
"Jenna."  
  
"Jake."  
  
The group nodded politely at each other, then Jenna (the brown haired one) said, "Why don't we all trade numbers? I mean, we're all in the same, ah, beginning group. That way we'll have at least three other people to talk to on our phone-things. That're human, I mean."  
  
"Yeah." Anya nodded slowly. "I like that idea a lot. Human contact sounds good."  
  
"And Bishonen don't?" Jenna teased slightly.  
  
"You know what I mean. It's comforting knowing you're not the only new one out there," Anya protested.  
  
The others nodded. "Let's exchange numbers, then," Ashley said cheerfully. "Let's look at our Dexes!"  
  
They did that, and asked the desk lady for some paper and pen. She gave them amused looks. "You don't need that! Just speak into your Dex the number you want saved, and for who, and it'll record it for you! Try it!"  
  
Ashley said, "How do you turn it on?"  
  
"Just open it."  
  
The four did that at once and their screens on it turned a light blue.  
  
"Property of-?" Anya's asked politely.  
  
"Uh," was her reply.  
  
"Property of Uh," the Dex said.  
  
"No, no no!" she said quickly. "Property of Anya!"  
  
"Anya?"  
  
"Yes!" she told it.  
  
"Property of Uh, Anya?"  
  
"NO! Property of ANYA!"  
  
"Property of Anya?"  
  
"YES!"  
  
"Property of Anya, age-"  
  
"Fifteen!"  
  
"Property of Anya, age fifteen. Novice trainer. Status, no Bishonen. Two weeks to capture one. Correct?"  
  
"Yes," she told it, faintly annoyed. "I want to save some numbers."  
  
"Address? Phone? Dex?"  
  
"Dex numbers," she told it.  
  
"Which numbers?"  
  
She sighed in relief and the group exchanged Dex numbers. After arguing with the Dexes- "No, I said ANYA is this number!" "It's not UM, 1532, it's just 1532!"- they got the numbers saved.  
  
"Should we test them?" Ashley asked.  
  
"Good idea," Jenna agreed. She walked over to the other side of the room and turned hers on, and whispered something to it.  
  
Jake's Dex said, "Call from Jenna, age fourteen, Novice trainer. Status, no Bishonen-"  
  
"Yes, yes, thank you, I'll take it," Jake said, sounding annoyed at it as well. "Hello?" he whispered into it.  
  
"It works!" Jenna called to the group. "Now we know it works!"  
  
They all paused and looked at each other. "Well," Anya said. "I don't really know you all, but... good luck. Let's keep in touch, say once a week?"  
  
"Yeah, sounds good," Jenna agreed, tossing her hair over her shoulder.  
  
The others agreed.  
  
"Well, let's go get supplies and things," Ashley said reluctantly. "Bye."   
  
She walked out.  
  
"Bye," Jake said, and he too walked out.  
  
"Later," Jenna said to Anya, and followed Jake.  
  
Anya glanced around at the odd room, smiled faintly, and followed in their footsteps towards the door. /Well, now I'm a trainer. Go figure. Let's see what it takes to be one,/ she thought.  
  
~*~  
  
Wow, second chapter! Woohoo! OK, from now on I'll be mentioning Bishonen and a short lil' thingy at the bottom of each chapter as to who is what, just in case you don't know them. For example.  
  
Duo Maxwell is a Gundam pilot from the anime Gundam Wing. He's fairly hyper and talks a lot, but gets dead serious in fighting with Deathscythe, his Gundam.   
  
Just a vague example. Later! 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three- Bishonen Number One, And Well Done!  
Notes- Another dumb rhyming chapter title! Yay! Enjoy!  
  
~*~  
  
Anya wandered through the huge trees of the woods she'd been in for the past two days. She now wore a T-shirt and some khaki shorts, and some new sneakers. On her back was a new black backpack with four parts on it. It was filled with capsules.  
  
Apparently, along with the pact with Bishonen came the bonus of Capsule Corps. for humans. They were little capsules that could expand into, say, a closet, or refrigerator, and shrink again when you put something in it, and never harm the contents of the capsule in question. A very useful little gadget. The local store had realized she was only a Novice, with no Bishonen, and had given her the stuff for free. First days were always nice days, according to the man.  
  
And it was a good thing! The man had given her a few capsules- two refrigerators, one of just dry food like trail mixes and such, one for future clothes, one for about ten sleeping bags in case her Bishonen wanted out of the Bish-Balls at night, and toiletries in another. However, her backpack also had a couple water bottles out, a map rolled up, her Dex, and a book called Bishonen Basics.   
  
She paused to lean against a tree and sigh. So far, no sign of Bishonen. She would have thought they'd be all over, somehow knowing she was a novice, and taunting her or something. Not that she wanted THAT, exactly, but it would be nice to finally find someone to talk to besides a tree. Trees were very quiet and thoughtful, but they very rarely answered you.  
  
She slid down and stared up at the huge trees. They were beautiful to look at, but hardly good for climbing into if danger came along. The lowest branch was eight feet high, and she being only five feet couldn't reach it.  
  
Not that there'd been any danger. It was perfectly nice out here. A little humid, but hey, it was summer. That was to be expected.  
  
Anya closed her eyes for a moment, picturing two days ago when she came out of the odd orientation building...  
  
~*~ Flash back ~*~  
  
Anya found Kara easily, the redhead bobbing to a tune on a radio nearby. She was with a couple other girls and a few Bishonen. Anya felt a little uneasy about marching up and talking, but Kara noticed her before she had to do anything.  
  
"Hey, newbie! Over here!"  
  
She obeyed with a small smile. A couple of the Bishonen eyed her curiously, but they were all from anime she didn't recognize. She gave them smiles and nods, they nodded back, one even grinned, and they returned to talking to their trainers.  
  
"So how'd it go? Got the belt and stuff?"  
  
Anya nodded.  
  
"Well, did he tell you about getting stuff for your journey?"  
  
She paused, then nodded.  
  
"Huh. He actually remembered to tell you everything? That's a once in a lifetime thing. Cool. Well, just walk in and show them your Dex, and they'll know you're really a new one. They'll give you all the necessities."  
  
"Where do I get money for later on, though? I have a feeling that you don't always get free stuff..."  
  
"Of course not, nothing comes for free! You get money by betting it in battles. There's a town where you can bet on machines and such, or whatever, but basically when you challenge someone to a fight you bet money. If you win, you get it. If you lose, well, you lose it." Kara shrugged. "The local store's got everything you should need right away. Just head down the street and it'll say on it 'General Needs' so you can't miss it."  
  
"Thanks. Thanks a lot, Kara."  
  
She grinned. "Hey, we can be pals, right? Why don't we keep in touch while we're apart? Maybe we'll meet up later on, hey? What's your Dex?"  
  
Oddly, she took Anya's number but refused to give her own. Anya guessed it was fine, though. Kara was the one who'd wanted to keep in touch, so if she didn't want to give her Dex number right away, well, that was fine.   
  
"Well, that's that, then," Kara said.  
  
"Guess so," Anya said. "I guess I'll see you later..."  
  
"Bye!" Kara waved, and returned to dancing.  
  
Anya watched the group of trainers and Bishonen for a moment, then turned and headed towards the store.   
  
~*~ End Flash back ~*~  
  
Just like that, and her first acquaintance/friend was out of the picture. Oh, well. Anya stretched a little, then froze.  
  
Someone else was out here.  
  
She slowly started to get into a crouching position so she could stand in a hurry if she needed to. Who was it? Another trainer? Or was it, possibly, a Bishonen? She prayed it was the latter. A trainer was all well and good, but if she wanted to stay here for a while, she needed to find a Bishonen in two weeks.  
  
Anya heard the sound again, footsteps. She tiptoed around the tree and peered behind it. The sound was behind her. Quietly, she walked towards it.  
  
Another huge tree blocked the sound. She could hear someone muttering. A guy. A Bishonen?! In her hope she jumped out from the tree-  
  
-and stared into the face of a surprised Bishonen.  
  
"AAAAAAH!"  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAH!"   
  
They screamed at each other. The Bishonen jumped up into the tree and she hid behind it simultaneously, Anya shaking with surprise.  
  
/Wh- oh, great. Nice move. Yeah. Get you a lot of Bishonen that way,/ she thought at herself, annoyed. /Let's see if we can make amends... no, wait up, he's coming down.../  
  
"What the hell was that?" she heard above her spot. She froze and pressed against the tree trunk, sliding down a little to hide herself more. "Looked like a trainer. But I think I scared 'er off. Good thing." There was a long, satisfied grunt, and she pictured him stretching. "Aaaah. Better get back. Never know when trainers are around."  
  
There was a thump behind the tree, and she knew he'd landed. Quickly, she pulled out an empty Bish-ball and silently prayed for luck, then jumped to her feet and came out from behind the tree. "HEY!" she shrieked, and threw the Bish-ball.  
  
At her yell he whipped around and went into fighting stance, and she got a good look at him. "Sagara Sanosuke," she whispered. "Awesome!" He blinked at her in shock, then started to turn and run when the ball hit him right on the head. He fell to the ground with the ball, and disappeared muttering a curse.  
  
The ball shook violently for a moment, then stopped.   
  
For a long moment, Anya just watched the ball, expecting Sano to jump out and attack her for trying to capture him. But the ball remained closed. Quietly, she walked up and picked the ball up.   
  
"Wow," she whispered. "I... did it. I captured a Bishonen. My very first Bishonen..." Then she shouted, "YES!" and punched the air happily. "I got Sanosuke! This is SO cool!" Then she paused and looked at the ball in her hands. "But I'd think you would put up more of a fight, there. Oh well. I caught you by surprise, I'll bet."  
  
The ball shook a little again, as though in reply.  
  
"You want out? OK." She held the Bish-ball out away from her. "Come out, Sanosuke!"  
  
An instant later, an annoyed looking Bishonen appeared before her. He wore his usual white outfit, with his shirt having the 'wicked' symbol on it. He wore his headband. He had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot.  
  
"I thought you were still around," was the first thing he said. And he sounded as annoyed as he looked.  
  
"I was," she answered. "I'm Anya." She held out a hand.  
  
He ignored the hand. "The hell you do that for, anyway?"  
  
She lowered the hand, feeling a little annoyed herself. "Why do you think? I'm a trainer."  
  
"Trainer? Hah. Trainers got other Bishonen to fight the free ones. Lemme see that." He grabbed for her backpack.  
  
"Uh, HEY!"  
  
He ignored her again and pulled out her Dex. "Identify," he said to it, pointing at Anya.  
  
"Will not comply."  
  
Sano looked ticked. "I said identify!"  
  
"It's voice activated," Anya said with some satisfaction.  
  
He threw her a look.   
  
"Property of Anya, age fifteen. Status, Novice trainer, one Bishonen. Name of Bishonen, Sagara Sanosuke. Nickname?"  
  
"Hell NO I don't want some dumb nickname!" Sano declared angrily. "Don't you DARE put in a nickname!"  
  
"I wasn't going to, anyway." She looked at the Dex and took it from him. "Name of Bishonen, Sagara Sanosuke, nickname Sano."  
  
"..."  
  
"Hey, that's not a 'dumb nickname' it's your actual name thing. Jeez, what'd you think I'd do, call you Fluffy?"  
  
He glowered at her. "Anyway, just as I thought. You just started."  
  
"Someone give him a prize. Yes, I'm new around here." She put the Dex away. "And I'd appreciate it if you asked before taking my stuff."  
  
"And I should listen to you WHY?"  
  
"Because I'm your trainer, that's why. I decide what you eat."  
  
"I can cook for myself."  
  
"I'm sure you could."  
  
"Watch your mouth, Missie."  
  
"It's hard to do that. You get all cross-eyed and stuff."  
  
"Why worry, I'm sure you'd pass off with that look better than you look now-"  
  
"HOLD IT. Why are we arguing? I didn't do anything but capture you."  
  
"And that's a lot, if you didn't know. I can't go back to my home now."  
  
She shrugged. "Neither can I. Life sucks. Let's move on."  
  
"Liar. You can go home by releasing me right now."  
  
"I don't want to."  
  
Sano threw his hands up in the air. "I give up! WOMEN!"  
  
Anya smiled faintly. "Well, come on."  
  
"Come on where?"  
  
"Through the woods. We're heading to the next town."  
  
"What's this we suddenly?"  
  
"Well, usually when you're talking about yourself and one or more other people you tend to use the term 'we'."  
  
He snorted.  
  
"If you want, I'll buy you sake..."  
  
He considered that a moment, then shook his head.  
  
"Capture a Megumi for you?"  
  
"Nah, ain't interested."  
  
She grinned. "Catch a Kenshin, maybe?"  
  
Sano glowered at her. "I don't WANT you to catch anyone. I ain't interested."  
  
"You sure? Fine. Well, you want food? I assure you I cook much better than Kaoru, no offense if she's out there," she added hurriedly aloud.  
  
He considered that. "I'll think about it after we eat."  
  
~*~  
  
He stretched out, looking fairly satisfied.   
  
Anya wiped her mouth and smiled. "So what did you think?"  
  
"Hn." He waved his hand in dismissal. "I'm still thinking."  
  
"You sure take a long time."  
  
"I'm thinking along the lines of 'no' right about now."  
  
"Really? Then I'm thinking along the lines of 'go find your own food again' right now."  
  
He shrugged. "I'll tag along a while. But right now, if you're so intent on being some stupid trainer, you only keep me long enough to catch another Bishonen, then release me. Got it?"  
  
"You didn't like my cooking?"  
  
"It's not the cooking. I don't want to be a plaything for some fangirl." He stood up. "Well, are you moving along or not?"  
  
Anya watched him a moment, then sighed and shoved the capsules back into her backpack. /This is going to be a little harder than I thought it would be.../  
  
~*~   
  
YES! Chapter three DONE, baby! Please, PLEASE review?!  
  
Sagara Sanosuke is one of the main characters in the anime Rurouni Kenshin. At first he was an enemy, but Kenshin defeated him and proved he wasn't "Like the other Imperialists" that killed Sanosuke's friends and mentor in the war leading to the Meiji Era. He's pretty aggressive, likes food, gambling, sake, and some people say Megumi or Kenshin. (shrugs) 


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four- AAAAH! CHIBI!  
Notes- Sorry, it took a while to update. -_- Um, I hope you like?  
  
~*~  
  
Anya made her way through the trees quietly, listening to the quiet around her. There were a few birds singing around, but that didn't mean anything. They'd know when a stranger was nearby, but Bishonen who lived around here would hardly be strangers to them. In fact, who knows? She'd read about worlds where people used birds to alert them when the enemy came. Of course, they didn't screech and attack her- if she got too near the birds, they'd just fly away without a sound. And they were awfully pretty birds...  
  
"This is pathetic," said a voice behind her.   
  
The teen jumped, then turned around and put a hand on her hip. "And what is so pathetic?" she asked.  
  
Sano gave her one of those I'm-smarter-than-you looks that annoyed her. "Your attempt at capturing Bishonen. Your face must be scaring them off."  
  
She gave him one of her I'm-a-woman-and-damned-proud-of-it looks and answered, "Oh, I'm sure there are a few at least as stupid as you that are sticking around."  
  
He lost some of his superior look.   
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
Five days ago, if someone had told Anya she would be walking around talking to an anime character and trying to capture other anime characters to hang around with, she'd have quietly gotten to the phone and sent them to the hospital for a prolonged stay.   
  
But now, it felt so right. She'd gotten so used to Sanosuke around now that her retorts to his talking were becoming second nature. It would have been nice if they were just talking, but Sano kept pointing out her faults to her and the fact that he'd do much better in her position. She offered him a skirt and the belt, but he had declined rather quickly.  
  
She grinned at that memory. Now that had been funny. Just yesterday...   
  
She paused.  
  
"Eh?" Sano questioned.   
  
Anya ignored him for a long moment, just listening intently for the sound she thought she'd heard a moment ago. Like someone was following them? She turned around to look back the way they'd come.  
  
Something moved in the bushes, but it looked far too small to be a Bishonen or Bishujo.  
  
She relaxed. "Just an animal of some sort," she muttered, shaking her head. "Never mind, Sano."  
  
"That's Sanosuke to YOU, Missie," he answered.   
  
She snorted. "OK, Fluffy."  
  
Anya grinned again at the sound of him clenching his fists and teeth and muttering curses. "Watch your mouth or it'll get stuck that way," she told him, and continued walking.  
  
~*~  
  
Later on, they were setting up camp. Well, actually, Anya was doing most of the work while Sano lounged against a rock, muttering about food. She finally got up and put a hand on her hip. "Well?"  
  
He looked up. "Well what?"  
  
"Are you going to help?"  
  
"Why should I? No."  
  
"I asked if you were going to help."  
  
"I heard you, though I don't think you heard me. Do the two letters N and O put together mean anything to you?"  
  
Anya raised an eyebrow at him. "Do the two words NO and FOOD put together mean anything to YOU, Sano?"  
  
"I hate you."  
  
"I know."  
  
He sighed, and stood to help her spread out some blankets to sit on. Then he made the fire, though still complaining under his breath. Anya ignored the curses for now- at least he was helping!- when she heard a sound again.  
  
She froze, listening, and glanced towards Sano. He was again lounging on his rock, right across from her. And behind him...  
  
Was the most adorable redhead boy she'd ever seen.  
  
Well, no, it wasn't a human boy- it was a Bishonen.   
  
A Bishonen CHIBI.  
  
Anya froze, trying to decide what to do. She remembered what that Professor had said, and she did NOT want to piss off a whole group of Bishonen for even being near one of their Chibis. Even if this little one ran away of his own will...  
  
But he was so CUTE...  
  
/A Kenshin,/ she decided, looking at the huge pile of red hair on his head and his huge violet eyes, sparkling with mischief. He ^_^ and waved his hands around a moment, asking for silence. /What's this? Maybe he knows Sano?/ she wondered.   
  
Sano blinked at her. "What're you looking at?"  
  
"Uh, your hair. It's amazing. You look like you've got a rooster sitting on it."  
  
"Missie, that was uncalled for. I helped you with the damned camp."  
  
"You never have before."  
  
"Well, I-"  
  
"AAAAAAAR!" the Chibi Kenshin howled playfully, jumping on top of Sano.  
  
"AAGH!" Sano jumped to his feet, nearly knocking Chibi Kenshin to the ground. Kenshin apparently had a good grip, though, because he was still hanging onto Sano's head.  
  
"UNCLE SAN UNCLE SAN UNCLE SAN-" the Chibi yelled happily. "I gotcha, that I did!"  
  
/Even as a chibi he talks that way?/ Anya blinked.   
  
"Ah! KENSHIN?!" Sano grabbed the Chibi and held him out at arm's length. "What in HELL are you doing way out here away from home?"  
  
"Following you!" Kenshin stated. Again, he ^_^.  
  
Sano fell over. Anya carefully caught the Chibi, who merely looked at her with the same expression. "Are you Sano's girlfriend?" he asked innocently. "Dad says Uncle San likes girls."  
  
Sanosuke, who had just started to stand, fell over again. Anya nearly face-faulted herself. "No, I'm not," she said. "I'm his trainer, Anya."  
  
"Anya?" the Chibi questioned carefully.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"I'm Kenshin!" the Chibi introduced himself.  
  
She carefully set him down. "Why are you following, uh, Uncle San?" she asked.  
  
"Don't you DARE use that nickname, Missie!"  
  
"I think it's kawaii," she said defensively.  
  
"'Cause I'm bored," the Chibi Kenshin answered.  
  
"You know your Mom and Dad will be mad at you for leaving, and me for finding you," she told him.  
  
He tilted his head to one side. /Even a tomboy would want to squeal,/ she thought. "Why?"  
  
That wonderful child's question. Even the Bishies had it. "Because you're still young, and they want you safe. I'm a stranger."  
  
"But I know your name," he pointed out, looking pleased. "So we're not strangers!"  
  
"No, I mean- uh, I'm not a Bishujo."  
  
"Are you a Bishonen? You don't look like one," he said.  
  
"No. I'm human. I'm a trainer."  
  
"Oh. What's a human, that is?"  
  
Both Anya and Sano fell over this time.  
  
"Kid, we're taking you back to your parents," Sano said shortly.  
  
"I SO don't want to piss off a million Kenshins, or worse, a million Kaorus," Anya said nervously. "You carry him." She quickly put out the fire and shoved the blankets together, put them in a capsule, and shoved that into her pocket.   
  
"He can walk, can't you kid?"  
  
Chibi Kenshin held out his arms. "Carry me Uncle San!"  
  
Sanosuke sweat dropped as Anya smirked at him, and sighed. He obediently picked the Chibi up, who laughed happily.  
  
/He's so KAWAII!/ she thought. Then, /I am so dead! I hope his Dad doesn't become a Battousai, father like son kind of thing... that would be bad.../  
  
"So Kenshin's let his guard down again," Sano said with a sigh. "When's he gonna learn you don't leave your kids like that?"  
  
Anya blinked. "So there ARE multiple Bishonen out there?" she asked.  
  
"Are you trying to be stupid? Because, if you're just trying, you're doing really, really, well!"  
  
"Shut up. I'm still new around here."  
  
"I noticed. C'mon, Kenshin, we don't need her stupidity rubbing off on you."  
  
Kenshin merely tugged at 'Uncle San's' hair a little and continued ^_^.   
  
/Maybe his mother was a friend of Xellos',/ Anya thought. /He's been grinning like that- but he's so KAWAII!/ She nearly hit herself. /STOP thinking that! Jeez. You're obsessed over a Chibi. Sure, he's cute, but his Dad's cute too and really, really deadly. I REALLY hope his Dad's not in Battousai mode and coming after us.../  
  
For a while the group just wandered back through the woods the way they'd come. Chibi Kenshin hummed a little and kicked his feet from time to time. Anya had no problem listening to this. He had a pretty nice voice as a little kid.   
  
/Now that I think of it, Kenshin rarely sang in the episodes... I mean, sure that drinking song thing, but... I wonder if he does as a Sama in the Bishie world?/  
  
Anya pondered that for a while, which passed the time. After a long, long while, it was late afternoon, and Chibi Kenshin was dozing off in Sano's arms.   
  
Anya paused. "Let's rest, hey?" she said softly.  
  
Sano shrugged. "Whatever, Missie," he said, but also in a soft tone.  
  
The teen girl grinned. Chibi Kenshin obviously was this tough guy's biggest weak spot right now. "Come on."  
  
They set up camp, and Sano actually didn't object to helping. Even though it meant juggling both sleeping Chibi and other things at once. Finally, though, he gently set the sleeping Kenshin on a blanket they'd spread out and leaned against a tree.  
  
"Well, what're you going to say?" Sanosuke said suddenly.  
  
Anya looked at him blankly.  
  
"What're you going to say to his folks?"  
  
"That he followed you for some reason for the past day or two and we're bringing him back, and no I have NOT captured him. I'll even offer to let them look at my Dex and my Bish-Balls if they want."  
  
"Hn." He grunted. "I hope you don't expect me to protect you."  
  
"Oh no, of course not," she said sarcastically. "Why should I? You hate me."  
  
"That was a joke."  
  
Anya blinked and looked up at him in surprise. "Eh?"  
  
"You heard me." He fell silent, as though he said too much.  
  
/Well, that's special. I thought he hated me.../ "Hey Sanosuke?" she asked.  
  
"What."  
  
"Um. Why do you hate fangirls so much?"  
  
He looked away. "It doesn't matter."  
  
"Yes it does. I want to know why, so maybe I can help fix it."  
  
"You can't fix it." He looked at her, now somewhat angry. "You wanna know? Fine. My little brother was kidnapped as a Chibi. The trainer... I tried to stop her, but her Bishonen were too strong. It was bad enough she captured my brother, but it was worse that she was so... calm about it all. She was like, 'I caught a good bug specimen, let's go see what makes it tick' instead of 'ohmygod I caught a Bishie!' like the rest of you. I hate fangirls because of that. I have most of my life. I was only in San, so I couldn't help..." He trailed off.  
  
Anya remained silent for a moment, then, "I'm sorry." He snorted. "No, I really am. That's like a kidnapper stealing into my house and taking my little sister away, planning to... to... molest her or something, and leave her to die on the roadside."  
  
"You have a little sister?"  
  
"Actually, no. But I have a little cousin I'm close with. We're almost like that."  
  
He kept quiet.  
  
"I shouldn't have pried, I'm sorry," Anya said. She glanced down at Chibi Kenshin, who was snoring very, very softly. "He's kawaii."  
  
"You want to catch him?"  
  
"Hell yes, but I don't dare. One, you'd kill me, two, his parents would kill me, and three, if you all didn't do the job, I'd feel rotten the rest of my life."  
  
Again, he fell silent.  
  
Anya and Sano sat there for a couple hours, perfectly quiet, watching Kenshin sleep. During this time Anya took turns watching both Sano and Kenshin. Sano had a look of worry every time he glanced at Chibi Kenshin, and obvious doubt every time he glanced at Anya and thought she wasn't looking.   
  
What was he doubting? That she understood that pain?  
  
/How awful, watching your little brother get torn away from you and you not being able to protect him... and then never seeing him again, from the sound of his voice earlier... Poor Sano. And by now, no doubt his brother's either San or Sama so he can't do anything about it, since now he's allowed to be a Bishonen by both Bishies and human's laws./  
  
Finally, Kenshin woke up and looked around, focusing on Sano. "Uncle San..." Then Anya. "And Annie?"  
  
Anya winced at the nickname while Sano grinned at her. "Yes, Kenshin?" she asked.  
  
"I'm hungry, that I am," he said.  
  
"Right. What do you want?"  
  
"Mama makes ohagi for me, sometimes."  
  
Anya made a face. "Sorry, I don't know how to make that. Uncle San?"  
  
"I can't cook ohagi, ANNIE. Why don't you think of something else?"  
  
"Because you're his uncle."  
  
"And you're the host."  
  
They glared at each other. Then there was a POOF and they both looked to see Kenshin curiously going through a refrigerator on his own, standing on tiptoe to reach things. "Hmm, how about this!"  
  
"That's butter, Kenshin," Anya said slowly. "That goes on bread."  
  
He looked disappointed. "Oh."  
  
"Want peanut butter?"  
  
"Oro?"  
  
"Peanut butter?" Anya walked over and pulled out a convenient container of creamy peanut butter. "It tastes good, and I know a couple people who eat it right out of the container. Wanna try it?"  
  
Chibi Kenshin tried it cautiously with a finger, then his eyes lit up and he happily went to eating his fill of the peanut butter.  
  
"That's really, really weird," Sano said.  
  
"What?" Anya asked.  
  
"Giving him that stuff by itself. I thought you'd make him a sandwich."  
  
She waved a hand. "Hey, he's hungry, it's his call. Besides, I just want to make sure he doesn't get too much of it. He'll stop soon."  
  
Sano gave her an odd look. "You're weird too."  
  
"At least you don't hate me anymore." Then she paused. "Or do you?"  
  
"I don't hate you."  
  
"But I'm a fangirl."  
  
"You don't fit the precise definition. You're not glomping."  
  
"Why, no, I'm not. I still captured you."  
  
"And you're not squealing, and you're not capturing Kenshin. At least, not yet."  
  
Anya shook her head. "You know something? I'm not weird, you are."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Don't mention it."  
  
Kenshin put the container down. "That's good, that it is!" he said cheerfully.  
  
"You full now, kid?" Sano asked.  
  
"I am!" Chibi Kenshin answered.  
  
"Then let's go. It's still an hour or so before dark."  
  
Kenshin offered to help roll the blankets, and of course Sano put out the fire to top that. Anya smiled. Maybe he felt guilty about watching a kid he cared about work for a woman he didn't like.  
  
/So he really doesn't hate me. What does he think of me, then? It'd be nice if all that bravado was really that he cared about me, but I think it's too soon for him to give a damn. And personally, I don't blame him. I've been kinda mean back. And I've meant it, in the past couple days./  
  
Now she felt guilty about the whole thing.   
  
/I'll not complain if he doesn't help putting up camp tonight,/ she promised. /And I won't pry anything out of him again./  
  
Then, /What's that?!/  
  
Something was moving in the bushes.  
  
Sano heard it too. "Who's there?!" he demanded. He went into fighting stance. Chibi Kenshin merely looked curious, tilting his head to one side again. Anya stepped in front of him a little, and he grabbed onto one of her legs. Startled, she nearly fell over at that, but kept her balance. "Show yourself, dammit!"  
  
There was a long pause, then a voice said, "So you found my little Kenshin?"  
  
Anya frowned. "You don't sound like a Kenshin or Kaoru!" she accused.  
  
"I'm a friend of his. Aren't I, Kenshin?"  
  
Chibi Kenshin's wide eyes looked around. "Dad says younglings sometimes have imaginary friends, that he says," he answered slowly. "But everyone else can hear you too."  
  
"Don't fear me, you know who I am. My voice is merely froggy."  
  
Sano growled. "I don't believe you. I don't recognize you. You better show yourself, pal!"  
  
Another pause, then something blurred out at them towards the Chibi. "He's MINE!" the blur shrieked in triumph.   
  
"HELL NO!" Anya shrieked, and picked the Chibi up and started backing away. "YOU GET AWAY FROM HIM!"  
  
"Why? He isn't YOUR Bishonen! He's free, and he's MINE!"  
  
Anya stared at the crazed- looking girl, and blinked. "What ARE you?"  
  
"A halfling!" Sano said in disgust.  
  
The girl-Bishujo smirked, then gestured towards Chibi Kenshin, who was looking at her gravely. "That's right. Now hand over that Chibi, little girl, and I won't hurt you or your Bishie."  
  
Anya's eye twitched. "LITTLE, am I?" she asked dangerously. "I'd like you to try and say that again."  
  
Sano blinked. Kenshin looked at her curiously.  
  
The Bishujo's smirk grew. "I'd love to. You're nothing but a little novice girl who hasn't a clue as to what's-"  
  
BAM!  
  
Anya gingerly shook her hand as she backed away from the Bishujo, still holding onto Kenshin with one hand. Sano looked surprised, though Kenshin almost looked ready to fall asleep. The Bishujo-girl lay on the ground, dazed.  
  
"Missie, where did you learn to punch like that?" Sano asked, an eyebrow raised.  
  
"At home. Ow, that hurts..."   
  
He walked over and grabbed the hand, inspecting it carefully. "Sano...?" she questioned a little uneasily.  
  
"Shut up. It doesn't look bad, probably just not used to that force..."  
  
"Sano..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Watch OUT!"  
  
Sano ducked with Anya as a fist came swinging at the back of his head, and he spun Anya out of the way. She whirled in circles for a while, and she and Chibi Kenshin both had swirly eyes when they came to a stop.  
  
Then Anya noticed that Sano was fighting the girl. "Are you OK, Kenshin?" she asked the Chibi. He nodded.  
  
"She is odd," he said, pointing at the strange girl. "Not quite like you, but not quite like me or Uncle San."  
  
"True," Anya agreed. "Are you fast on your feet?"  
  
"I kept up with you and Uncle San for days, did I not?"  
  
Anya paused. "Good point." She set him down and rubbed her arms. "You're kinda heavy, you know."  
  
"What are you going to do?" Kenshin asked.  
  
"Help Sano," she answered, and marched back over to where Sano had delivered a decent blow to the girl's middle. However, the girl kept on going with a kick to his head, making him lose his balance a moment. She kicked him again, knocking him over, and lunged at Anya. "AGH!"  
  
Anya ducked the punch and blocked a kick, wincing as the girl kicked. "Damn it, why won't you GO AWAY?" Anya complained.  
  
"Just gimme the Chibi!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
The girl stopped and blinked. "You don't know?"  
  
Anya peered up at her. "There's something else besides his cuteness?"  
  
The Bishujo-girl snorted. "Please. That little rat's just got good genes."  
  
"He is NOT a rat," Anya stated.  
  
"He is to me."  
  
"YOU'RE the rat," Sano grunted, standing up. "Back up, Missie, I can't hit her with you so close."  
  
"Too bad for you," sneered the girl. Then she blinked again. "Where did he go?" she demanded.  
  
"Eh?" Anya looked around. Kenshin was gone!  
  
"Where did you hide him?" the girl demanded, pulling Anya up and threatening her with a fist. "TELL ME!"  
  
Sano clenched his fists. "Let her go," he demanded.  
  
"We didn't hide him, he ran!" Anya said. "Now let GO!" She kicked the Bishujo-girl's knee.  
  
She howled in pain and Anya punched her again with the sore hand. "Ow ow ow," she muttered, shaking the hand again. "I'm really gonna feel that... what's she got for bones, steel?"  
  
The girl didn't look like she'd be getting up soon, so Anya turned away to look at Sano. "Do you have a clue where Kenshin went? I asked him to run if he had to," Anya said.  
  
He shrugged, looking a little concerned. "I have no idea, Missie. Now let me see that hand again."  
  
He gingerly picked it up and inspected it. "Yeah, you definitely need to get used to punching something if you're going to make a habit of it. Decent punch, by the way."  
  
Anya blushed faintly. "Thanks."  
  
Sano let her hand drop, then turned away to start searching for the Chibi.  
  
Anya began to follow when a scream from behind warned her. She turned her head to see the girl leaping at her- with a knife in her hand this time- and her blood ran cold.  
  
"If you won't give me that Chibi, I'll CARVE-" the girl began.  
  
A red blur passed between the two.  
  
A moment later, the Bishujo-girl fell to the ground, knocked out for good this time.  
  
Anya stared at her, then slowly looked up at the figure who'd saved her butt.  
  
"Kenshin?"  
  
~*~  
  
Mwahaha! Look who came to save the day!  
  
Sano- (muttering) Oh yeah, sure, he gets ALL the credit...  
  
(hits him on the head) Anyway, please review! They make an author feel appreciated and loved! 


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five- De Gozaru Yo!  
Notes- So I'm obsessed with Rurouni Kenshin. Live with it. ^_^  
  
~*~  
  
Anya blinked up at the slim redhead figure standing in front of her, sword unsheathed, holding a small copy of himself in his arms...  
  
"Kenshin?" she asked uncertainly.  
  
"Annie-dono!" the Chibi said cheerfully. "My Dad is here, that he is!"  
  
/I can see that,/ she thought. "Uh, hello?"  
  
The grown Kenshin nodded at her politely before turning to the Bishujo-girl that lay on the forest grass, sprawled and unconscious. "She will not wake for a time, de gozaru yo," he said. "We should get moving before she wakes."  
  
Slowly, Anya nodded and then looked around for Sano. He was immediately at her side, checking over her.  
  
"Anya no baka! First you punch the damn girl with the same damned weak hand and then you nearly get yourself carved up by this crazy halfling! Do you WANT to get yourself killed here?"  
  
"Sano, will you stop that and shut up?" she asked. "I'm fine, you're fine... right?" she added.  
  
"Of course I'm fine!"  
  
"I didn't realize you were so worried," she said in a sly tone.  
  
He turned away towards Kenshin, apparently ignoring her. "Kenshin-" he began.  
  
"Let us get a move on, de gozaru yo," the grown Kenshin said politely. "We can talk as we go. For now, I want to get my son away from this woman, de gozaru yo."  
  
Sano nodded, and the odd group began to walk away from where the half-girl half-Bishujo lay.  
  
"You know, Kenshin, you really are getting soft," Sano began to complain as they walked through the dark woods. "Or is it a growing habit of yours to let your kid run off by himself? He could have been hurt a lot of times following us, or Missie mighta decided to capture him!" He threw a thumb in Anya's direction.  
  
"Well, I didn't, did I?" Anya asked defensively. "Jeez. I'm not the type to steal little kids!"  
  
"It was alright, I was watching both him and you, de gozaru yo," Kenshin said. "I found him sneaking off and knew he was following you again, Sano, so I decided to see where it would lead."  
  
Anya blinked. "So, you were following your son who was following Sano who was stuck following me?" she asked.  
  
"That sounds right, de gozaru yo." Kenshin turned grave violet eyes on her. Man, did she feel unworthy. "You are remarkably restrained for a trainer, if I may say so. Many would leap at the chance for a Chibi. Seeing one of our young is a rare occasion, de gozaru yo."  
  
She found herself rather stupidly blushing. "Eh, well, thanks? I don't know, put from your point of view, it sounds so wrong..."  
  
For the first time since she saw the grown one, Kenshin smiled. She felt twice as unworthy. "You are an interesting trainer, de gozaru yo. You're not even trying to capture me?"  
  
Anya snorted. "Are you kidding? You're married, or so I hear, and I don't feel like dealing with a pissed Kaoru."  
  
The smile grew. Then Kenshin turned to Sano, stopping their walking party. "What were you doing wandering off anyhow, Sano? You were wide open for capture."  
  
Sano shrugged. "The scouts have been- uh," he said, glancing at Anya.  
  
"Um..." Anya glanced at the three Bishonen. "Is... this something I'm not supposed to hear?"  
  
"Would you mind, de gozaru yo?" Kenshin said politely.   
  
"Can you show me how YOU punch, Annie?" Chibi Kenshin asked eagerly. "Can she, Dad?"  
  
Kenshin sighed and let his son down. "Just do not hurt yourself or I will have to explain to your mother, de gozaru yo."  
  
Chibi Kenshin immediately took Anya's hand and dragged her away out of earshot, and she glanced back curiously at the two Bishonen. Then she turned her attention to the adorable Chibi, who had released her hand and was jumping up in down in a vague fighting stance.  
  
She grinned. "Alright, what do you know?"  
  
~*~ Sano and Kenshin ~*~  
  
The two waited until the trainer was out of sight before they spoke again. Kenshin was the first. "I never thought I would see this, Sano," he said, obviously amused about something.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You are so concerned over a trainer. I have seen your care grow over only a few days. That in itself is a miracle, de gozaru yo."  
  
Sano frowned. "We didn't ask her to leave to talk about sentiments, Kenshin."  
  
Kenshin smiled. "Very well."  
  
"What I was going to say was that the scouts from our main city's been disappearing, and it's not at the usual rate." Sano glanced at Anya. "I talked to Megumi, and she told me a few have come in barely alive, as though someone's been beating them."  
  
Kenshin's smile faded to a frown. "That is disturbing. Any idea who?"  
  
Sano shook his head.  
  
"We have clearly stated our territories," Kenshin mused. "And what of the trainers?"  
  
Sano thought about that. "I'm not sure, but I don't think so. The most likely is that someone's trying to take over our territories, though I'm not sure who."  
  
"Hmm. What about that odd girl that was attacking you? I've never seen a girl like that," Kenshin said, "and I have seen half-breeds before, de gozaru yo."  
  
The two fell silent, then Kenshin chuckled.  
  
"What?" Sano asked.  
  
Kenshin nodded towards where Anya and the Chibi were. She was kneeling with her hands cupped for receiving punches, and the Chibi was awkwardly trying to punch into them.   
  
Sano watched too, with a small smile on his face.   
  
"Do you trust her?" Kenshin asked.  
  
"Eh?" Sano asked, blinking.  
  
"Do you trust her, de gozaru yo?" Kenshin repeated.  
  
"I don't know. I guess I do. What's it matter?" Sanosuke asked.  
  
"I am merely curious."  
  
Sano gave him a suspicious look, then waved at Anya as she glanced their way. She stood and let out a yelp as Chibi Kenshin punched her squarely in the knee. The Chibi looked immediately concerned and looking for the injury while she limped back to the two Bishonen. Sano smirked.  
  
"You have a tendency to get hurt, don't you?" he asked her.  
  
"Shut up," she replied. "No, Kenshin, I'm fine..." She glanced at the grown Kenshin. "So I guess you're heading back with your Chibi?"  
  
Kenshin looked up at the treetops. "Well, it is very late. We should make camp for a while, de gozaru yo." He glanced back at where they'd been. "And that girl will not try anything at least for tonight."  
  
Anya blinked, and then realized for the first time in a while that it'd been pretty dark for the past few hours. "Oh," she said lamely.   
  
"We will return home in the morning," Kenshin decided. "For now, let's make a fire and get some sleep, de gozaru yo."  
  
"Are you sure you're OK, that you are?" Chibi Kenshin asked worriedly, poking at Anya's knee. She twitched.  
  
"YES, honest," she replied, and glanced at the other two. "Who's getting firewood?"  
  
~*~ The next morning ~*~  
  
Anya felt very warm and very, very content when she woke the next morning, though she wasn't exactly sure why. The sleeping bag she has was nice enough, but it didn't generally stay this warm all night. And she never really felt content first thing in the morning.  
  
Suddenly something moved against her stomach. She froze, and opened her eyes to look down at herself.  
  
She saw a mass of red hair, and realized that the Chibi Kenshin was snuggled quite firmly next to her.  
  
/Wha? How? When?/ she wondered. /He was sleeping with his Dad last night... Why's he over here?/  
  
"He prefers sleeping with young ladies, it appears," said an amused voice.  
  
Anya looked up to see the grown Kenshin watching her. "Uh, morning," she said lamely. "Eh, did you just read my mind?"  
  
"It was obvious what you were thinking, de gozaru yo." He nodded at the Chibi. "Sometimes we take him for outings, Kaoru and I, and he usually prefers sleeping with Kaoru." He shrugged.   
  
"Oh."   
  
There was a long silence, when she shifted a little as the Chibi was sort of burying his face into her stomach. "Uh, do you want him back?"  
  
"When he wakes, de gozaru yo," Kenshin said with a smile. "We will let him sleep a while longer."  
  
The two fell silent again.   
  
Anya, seeing as she probably wasn't going to be able to leave her sleeping bag for a while longer, glanced around herself. Kenshin was sitting cross-legged near the remains of the fire they'd built the night before. Sano was a little ways away from them, leaning against a tree and snoring his head off. The Chibi, of course, was right next to her. Anya grinned a little at Sano as he shifted in his sleep-  
  
-and fell on the ground.  
  
"ITAI!"  
  
He woke up and, cursing, nursed his sore head, which had hit a small rock. Anya shook her head.  
  
"That's one of the most creative ways to wake up I've ever seen."  
  
"Shut up, Missie," Sano replied.   
  
"Good morning to you, too."  
  
"Ah..."   
  
The Chibi stirred and opened his wide violet eyes. He looked around him sleepily, then up at Anya. "Annie-dono. Good morning."  
  
"Morning," she said.   
  
Those violet eyes... /My god he's cute when he's a sleepy Chibi,/ she thought admiringly as she stared into them. /It.. I mean... ah, heck with describing. It just makes you wanna go 'aww' and hug him! Kinda like the innocent curious looks Kenshin shows in the anime.../  
  
Then the Chibi blinked and the spell was broken. "So what's for breakfast, Annie-dono?" he asked brightly, climbing out of the sleeping bag. "Can I have more of that... that, uh... peanut butter, that is?"  
  
"Peanut butter?" Kenshin asked with a raised eyebrow.   
  
"Yeah, I gave it to him the other day when he said he was hungry," Anya said. "I figured on just giving him a little snack..."  
  
"Hmm. Well, I suppose we can eat and then leave, de gozaru yo. What do you have besides... peanut butter?"  
  
Sano snorted.  
  
Anya thought, then pulled out her refrigerator capsule. She tossed it on the ground and with a poof the refrigerator appeared. She opened it and made a little bow. "My food is yours."  
  
Kenshin stood and walked over to peer curiously in.  
  
A while later, the group finished dining on fruits and a sandwich each. Anya leaned against a nearby tree, feeling satisfied with herself. "Ah, being fed feels good," she said, stretching.  
  
"That it does!" Chibi Kenshin agreed cheerfully. "What next?"  
  
"We go home, de gozaru yo," Kenshin said firmly. "It's time that we returned, your mother is probably very worried, de gozaru yo."  
  
"Make sure you're wearing armor, hey?" Sano asked with a grin.  
  
Chibi Kenshin paused and tilted his head to one side. "What about you, Uncle San?"   
  
Sano threw a thumb in Anya's direction. "I'm going with her."  
  
Chibi Kenshin looked at Anya. "But you're coming with us, you are, right?" he asked, sounding worried.  
  
Anya smiled and shook her head. "No, I'm going on to the next town and I'm going to capture more Bishonen," she answered.   
  
"But you'll come back in a week, right?" Chibi Kenshin asked.  
  
"No... we probably won't see each other again," Anya said.  
  
"But, but, but," Chibi Kenshin complained, wide eyes pleading. He turned to his father. "Dad, she's kidding is she not?"  
  
Kenshin shook his head. "She's a human, de gozaru yo," he answered. "She goes her ways, and we will go ours."  
  
"But, what about Uncle San?"  
  
"I go with her, obviously," Sano answered.  
  
"But if I never see HER again I'll never see YOU again," Chibi Kenshin fretted.  
  
Sano looked at Kenshin. "You've got a bright kid, Kenshin."  
  
"But I wanna see you again!" Chibi Kenshin said, latching onto Sano's leg.  
  
Sano tried to shake him off, but the Chibi apparently had an impossibly strong grip. "Ken- kid! Get off! Come on, for crying out loud, get off!" He shook his leg, but the Chibi remained latched onto him. "Kenshin, a little help?"  
  
The grown Kenshin was ignoring him, however, and looking curiously at Anya. Anya felt his eyes on her and looked up to meet his gaze.  
  
"Yes?" she asked.  
  
"And, and I wanna see you again!" Chibi Kenshin cried, releasing Sano's leg and switching to hers. Both of hers. She fell over from the surprise.  
  
"Ack! Kenshin," she began, and stopped when she saw those huge violet eyes. /I... oh, I really wish I wasn't such a Kenshin fan.../ she thought. /I could drown in those eyes.../  
  
The Chibi was also doing his best to look adorable, which made it all the harder to do anything but stare at him and adore him.   
  
Sano sighed. "You should teach the kid restraint, Kenshin."  
  
The grown Kenshin still watched her for a long moment, then sighed. "Kaoru will harm me, de gozaru yo. But I suppose it cannot be helped." He walked over and pulled Anya to her feet again gently. "Anya-dono, would you like a second Bishonen?"  
  
She blinked. "Eh?"  
  
Kenshin glanced down at the Chibi, then back up at her. There was no mistaking what he meant.  
  
"What? But, he's a Chibi," she began lamely.  
  
"And he likes you, and he will merely run off after his uncle later, de gozaru yo," Kenshin said, sounding slightly exasperated. "Wouldn't you?" he added to his son.  
  
Slowly, Chibi Kenshin nodded.  
  
"My... do you mean..." Anya felt shocked. "But he's still so little..."  
  
"Sano will teach him until he grows," Kenshin said, glancing at named Bishonen. Then he lowered his voice. "But I must warn you before you accept, de gozaru yo. Our San stage goes from violent to depressed in an instant. We may be great burdens at this stage, for this is when... the Battousai name becomes known..."  
  
"If... if you really mean it..." Anya reached down to hug the Chibi. "Yes, I'd love to take care of Kenshin!"  
  
"Then you have my permission, at least, to take him, de gozaru yo," Kenshin said with a sigh. "Though, young one, you cannot come back unless she releases you..." he said to his son.  
  
Chibi Kenshin grinned and hugged Anya. "I'm going with Annie-dono?" he said happily. "And Uncle San? YES!"  
  
Kenshin glanced into the woods. "Well, I must be going, that I should..."  
  
"Wow, uh, thanks so much, Kenshin," she said. "But... why do you trust me with your son?"  
  
He smiled. "Because you restrained yourself from capturing him. And it's better a trainer I've met than a stranger. Farewell, trainer Anya-dono." He smiled at his son. "I will see you later down the road perhaps, de gozaru yo."  
  
"Bye, Dad. See you later," Chibi Kenshin said, now reaching out to hug him. "And give Mom a hug too, that you will?"  
  
"I will," Kenshin said seriously.   
  
A moment later, he was gone.  
  
"Well, I guess..." Anya began after another moment. "I should capture you..."  
  
Sano shrugged.   
  
Chibi Kenshin looked up curiously. "How do you do that?"  
  
Anya held up a ball. "I catch you in this."  
  
The Chibi frowned. "Aren't I a little big for that, Annie?" he asked uncertainly.  
  
"You'll get, ah, sucked into it. Don't be scared, okay? I'll let you out again in just a moment, honest."  
  
The Chibi thought about this, then nodded. "Okay!"  
  
She tapped him with the ball, and he was sucked into it, his mouth making a silent O of surprise. She waited a moment until the ball stopped shaking and was still before saying, "Come out, Kenshin."  
  
He appeared looking shaken. "That- that WAS scary, that it was," he said. "Please, don't do it again?"  
  
Anya smiled and knelt down to hug the Chibi. "I won't," she promised.  
  
Her Dex beeped. "Bishonen Two captured. Himura Kenshin, stage Chibi. Nickname?"  
  
"No nickname," she told it. She then grinned. "YES! I got another Bishonen!"  
  
Sano rolled his eyes. "Are we going or not?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
As they left, another redhead figure watched them go with an ironic smile on his face. He muttered, "Kaoru's going to kill me, de gozaru yo," and disappeared.  
  
~*~  
  
OK. Here's the scoop.  
  
Kenshin is a character from Rurouni Kenshin like Sano. He's a kawaii redhead, the only grown guy on the anime (that I know of) with those wide, kawaii eyes. He was an assassin using a specific style of sword fighting- the Hiten Mitsurugi Style- and stopped for some reason. He helped bring about the Meiji Era in the anime. Anyway, he became a wanderer, and Kaoru is the most likely female candidate for his heart in the anime. Others think Sano is better.   
  
Sano- I resent that.  
  
Kenshin- Don't -I- get a say in who I love, de gozaru yo? -_-  
  
Aww, poor Kenshin. Anyway, different Bishies next chappy, honest! Later! 


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six- The First Battle  
Notes- Hehehe. Finally, some actual Bishie action here! ^_^ Hope you like.  
  
~*~  
  
"Annie-dono, can we stop for a while? I'm getting thirsty, that I am."  
  
Anya slowed down and sighed. "Kenshin, it's Anya. You don't have to call me a miss, just Anya, OK? And for another thing... sure, why not. I'm thirsty too. Sano, you want something to drink?"  
  
Sano raised an eyebrow. "You still have food in there? What did you do, steal all of it?"  
  
Anya smiled. "New trainers get anything and everything they want and or need on their first day in the Bishonen world. I got all this on the first day and stuffed it all into these refrigerator capsules and storage things. So of course I still got food and drink. You want water, Kenshin, or soda...?"  
  
"I'd like some more of that... soda, Annie-dono," the Chibi replied with a little ^_^.  
  
Again, Anya sighed. She still couldn't break Kenshin of either calling her miss or calling her Annie. Oh well, at least she got him hooked on soda. Though she wasn't exactly sure sometimes if a sugar-happy Kenshin was the best thing to have to deal with in the middle of the night... she'd spent half of last night trying to get him to sleep. Sano had threatened to punch both their lights out if they didn't shut up, but that had only encouraged the Chibi addition to their party. Finally, the sugar high had worn off and he'd just keeled over.  
  
The three stopped and Anya slipped off her backpack to take a look through her storage capsules. "Let's see, sodas... did you say you wanted something, Sano?"  
  
"Just water. That soda stuff is weird," Sano replied.  
  
Anya rolled her eyes. "Ever the traditionalist, aren't you?" she asked.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"You hate trains, huge boats, and soda. I mean, c'mon, if it can't hurt a Chibi Kenshin, how can it hurt you?" Anya pointed out with a grin.  
  
"...Shut up. They ARE possessed with ghosts," Sano muttered.  
  
Anya shrugged. "Suit yourself." She pulled out her capsule of sodas and got one for herself and one for her Chibi, then got a bottled water for Sano. She tossed that to the Bishonen, who caught it and took a big gulp before stretching a little. She handed the soda to Kenshin a little more calmly. His eyes lit up in delight as he took a sip from it.   
  
"I still cannot believe how good this tastes," the Chibi exclaimed. "Why didn't my parents have anything like this?"  
  
Sano snorted. "Because we are living in the beginning of the Meiji Era, and she is from... whatever year she's from."  
  
Anya blinked. "It must be kind of confusing to say something like that. I mean, this world is so weird."  
  
Sano shrugged. "You get used to it."  
  
"True," she agreed, and took a gulp of her drink. "Ahh..."  
  
"Hey, who's out there?" called a girl's voice. "I hear people talking! And I know you aren't a Bishonen!"  
  
Anya raised an eyebrow. "I'm human, alright, what about you?" she called back.  
  
"I'm human- ow!- damn bushes... Can I see you?"  
  
Anya rolled her eyes. "If you have sight, sure. Come on in, we're taking a break."  
  
There was a pause, then a curious, "We?"   
  
Then Anya heard a few crashing noises, and a young woman blundered through a nearby bush to where the three were standing around. The young woman was obviously human, her hair short, black, and her eyes a wide, startled blue. Anya wondered if she always had that look on her face or if this was a special occasion. But also, she wore the trainer's belt around her waist.  
  
The girl stopped and stared. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "Am I really seeing what I think I'm seeing?!"  
  
Anya shrugged. "What do you think you're seeing?" she asked.  
  
"A Chibi! You captured a Chibi?"  
  
"You could say that. These are my Bishonen. The Chibi is Kenshin. That's Sano," she added, pointing at the grown Bishonen.  
  
"Hi!" the young girl said cheerfully. "I'm Lisa! You new here?"  
  
Anya nodded. "How do you now?" she asked.  
  
"Just guessing. Older people here have like ten Bishies. Or do you have more?" Lisa glanced at Anya's belt.  
  
"Nah, these are my first and only two. How about you?"  
  
Lisa's startled-looking eyes filled with stars. "Oh, I just caught my favorite Bishonen the other day! He is so cute! You heard of the game Arc the Lad?"  
  
Anya nodded enthusiastically.  
  
"I caught Arc!" Lisa announced. "The only thing is he tends to be moody sometimes. I'm looking for a.. um, what was the purple-haired girl's name? Oh yeah, Kukuru, I think. Anyway, I'm looking for her since they had implied romance in the game, so..." She shrugged. "Anyway, I also caught Tidus! What's the luck in that?"  
  
"Tidus...? Oh yeah, that guy in FF10!" Anya said. "I know who you're talking about! Blonde, spontaneous, right?"  
  
"Yeah. Isn't he just so cool?"  
  
Sano snorted. "I hate to interrupt this girl talk and all," he said with sarcasm.  
  
Anya turned. "Well excuse me for wanting to talk to someone!" she said. "What do you want, Sano?"  
  
He raised an eyebrow at her. "I wanna know where the hell you caught those two Bishonen," he said to Lisa.  
  
Lisa shrugged. "A couple weeks ago," she said uncertainly. "I caught Tidus near a city maybe ten days ago, um... Tsurt City, I believe."  
  
Sano relaxed. "Good. And Arc?"  
  
"Three days ago. Why do you want to know, anyway?" Lisa asked. "I mean, why should it matter?"  
  
Sano turned away. "I don't have to answer that."  
  
"Hey, be nice!" Anya said to him and hit him lightly on the shoulder- it was hard to reach his head. "It probably has to do with what he and Kenshin were talking about the other day," she said thoughtfully, half to herself and half to the girl. "But still, you could be a little nicer than that!" she scolded Sano.  
  
Lisa laughed. "That's OK. He doesn't have to answer it, he's right. I was just a little curious. Say," she said suddenly, an odd gleam in her eye. "You wouldn't happen to want to battle, would you?"  
  
"Huh?" Anya asked.  
  
"You know, battle our Bishies?" Lisa suggested. "That would be so cool! We'd have to do one on one, though, so we wouldn't hurt your Chibi," she added, giving Kenshin a look of pure adoration.  
  
Chibi Kenshin looked mildly confused. "A battle, that is? Why do you want to battle? Is something wrong?" he asked.  
  
"No, no," Lisa said. "It's just a thing trainers do so their Bishonen get strong."  
  
"Oh. Can I fight then?" Kenshin asked.  
  
Anya sighed. "No, Kenshin. You still have to train with Sanosuke until you're a little bit stronger. Your parents would kill me if they heard I let you battle anyone who was a San or Sama."  
  
Lisa looked puzzled. "Wouldn't they kill you anyway if you stole a Chibi?"  
  
"I didn't steal him, he followed me," Anya retorted. "And sure, I'd love to try a battle. What do you say, Sanosuke? You've been trying to pick a fight with me the past day!"  
  
"I have not," Sano answered sullenly.  
  
"Have too," she answered. "So what do you say?"  
  
The Bishonen considered it. "Well... I am a little bored just wandering around..."  
  
"Come on," she wheedled.  
  
"Fine, fine, I consent to fight." Sano turned to Lisa. "Who'm I battling?" he asked, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.  
  
Anya grinned. He had that odd gleam in his eyes that she remembered from the anime, the look that gave away the fact that he couldn't wait to get started fighting. /I guess I have to face the fact that he really is Sano,/ she thought, shaking her head slightly.  
  
Lisa considered it, then pulled out a Bishonen Ball. "I choose... TIDUS-SAN!"  
  
There was a flash of light, and a confused looking Bishonen stood where there had been empty space before. Then he was glomped thoroughly by his trainer.  
  
"Hee. Isn't he so cool?" Lisa asked, grinning.  
  
Tidus looked like he was having a problem breathing.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Um, I think he's suffocating," Anya pointed out delicately.  
  
"..." Lisa glanced up at her Bishonen's face, then reluctantly let him go. "Sorry, Tidus-san," she said. "You should really remind me not to cut off your oxygen right before a battle."   
  
Sano rolled his eyes. Kenshin peered at this new Bishonen eyes wide in curiosity.   
  
"Well, shall we?" Sano asked, cracking his knuckles.  
  
Tidus regained his breath and seemed to realize what was going on. "A battle, trainer-san?" he asked Lisa.   
  
"Well, if we want to get into that gym, we have to get you as strong as possible, don't we?" Lisa asked, smiling.  
  
He sighed. "I so asked for it when I signed up for gym fighting," he complained to Sano in a mutter. He glanced at his trainer to make sure she hadn't heard, then unsheathed a wicked looking sword. "Alright. Just one versus one? Shouldn't be too tough."  
  
"Ha," Sano said.   
  
"Alright, Lisa? You have to tell me what the rules are. I haven't battled before," Anya said, eyeing the Bishonen. "It's not that violent, is it?"  
  
"It used to be, a long time ago, when Bishonen were first discovered. But now it's just a sport sort of thing. No one gets killed in trainer battles," Lisa answered. "One Bishonen just has to knock out the other one. Don't worry, Tidus' sword is magically blunted for Bishonen battles unless he has to protect himself or me from an attacker."  
  
Anya breathed a low sigh of relief. "Wow. Does Tidus cast the spell?"  
  
"Actually, no. It's something the master of Bishonen came up with. She combined the spells of her Bishonen into one big protective spell that's cast automatically. That's partially why the fight to the death things ended long ago," Lisa replied.  
  
"OK, so just knock each other out?"  
  
"Yep!"  
  
"Alright. Kick butt, Sano."  
  
Sano shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, missie."  
  
Kenshin was watching this all with wide-eyed interest. When Anya glanced over to make sure he would be out of the way and that he hadn't wandered off, she found that he had somehow climbed up into a low branch of a nearby tree. /Smart move, really,/ she reasoned, and smiled.  
  
"Ready!" Lisa called.  
  
The two Bishonen tensed.  
  
"Begin!" Lisa waved her arms around.  
  
Sano yelled as he threw a strong punch at Tidus' face first thing. Tidus yelped, "Not my face!" and dodged. Sano smirked and followed up with a punch from the other hand that got Tidus' arm.  
  
Tidus tightened his grip on his sword and swung it. Anya yelped involuntarily as the sword came dangerously close to Sano's face, but relaxed again as her Bishonen dodged it with ease. Sano took a moment to raise an eyebrow at his trainer before continuing. Anya blushed and clapped a hand over her mouth.  
  
Tidus backed away a little to get some room in, then ran a couple steps to jump up and swing his sword down on Sano's head. He missed, bringing it down on Sano's shoulder instead.   
  
Sano grunted and shook that arm, at the same time bringing a punch at Tidus' face. He connected and Tidus skidded backwards at least a foot before stopping and attacking again.  
  
"OK, buddy, you asked for it!" Tidus declared.  
  
"Whatever," Sano said.  
  
Lisa was hopping up and down eagerly, waiting for the winning hit. Anya was still watching a little uneasily. She was still unable to believe that this 'sport' wasn't so dangerous. She'd still been surprised when Tidus' sword didn't slice right through Sano's arm.  
  
Tidus leaped again, but this time he was angry and his aim was even worse. Sano easily dodged and kicked him in the gut. Tidus doubled over, gasping for air for a moment. Sano took the opportunity to knock the other Bishonen's feet out from under him. Then he put a foot on Tidus' back, and did a peace sign.  
  
Kenshin laughed and clapped his hands delightedly. "Sano's gonna teach me," he told Anya.  
  
"Right," she muttered doubtfully.  
  
"Aw, man, come on Tidus, get up!" Lisa said.   
  
Tidus glared. "I'm trying!" Then he remembered he still had his sword. He swung it.  
  
"Oof!" Sano fell over, rubbing his shin and glaring at Tidus, who'd regained his feet and was readying another blow at Sano's head. "Alright, kid, party's over," he said. He jumped up and did a hard kick to Tidus' head. Tidus dropped his sword and yelped with the pain, and was once again on the ground.   
  
This time, Sano followed him and continued punching him in the gut. Tidus groaned and shook his head, trying to shove the Bishonen off, but he couldn't.   
  
Finally, Lisa said, "Alright, alright! I give! Stop it!"  
  
Sano immediately stopped, smirked again, and jumped off of Tidus, who looked like he'd been in a school fight. A nice black eye was already forming. "Ow," he muttered before standing as well.  
  
"Well, not bad, you picked a cool Bishonen," Lisa said, glancing at Anya. "Tidus is my strongest Bishonen so far. How've you trained him? How'd you catch him?"  
  
Anya flushed a little. "Well, I haven't really trained him at all. As for catching him, well, we kinda caught each other by surprise..."  
  
"Wow! You're so lucky!" Lisa declared. She ran over and helped her Bishonen stand, then pulled off her backpack and proceeded to look through it for something. Anya watched for a moment. Lisa pulled out a little bottle and handed it to Tidus, commanding, "Drink it."  
  
Tidus grimaced but drank it all in one gulp. Then, gasping, he handed the bottle back.  
  
Anya yelped. The black eye was gone! In fact, Tidus looked like he'd never been in a fight!  
  
"Well, even if Tidus lost, he's learned how to deal with a Sanosuke," Lisa pointed out cheerfully. "So we didn't really lose that badly. Say, are you going to sign him up for gym training?"  
  
"For what?" Anya asked.  
  
"The gym training. There's battling, what we just did, and then there's the professional gym training. The gym training's great, if you're good enough, you can go all the way to the top with your Bishonen."  
  
"Oh. Well, I didn't really know that yet," Anya admitted. "Is it hard?"  
  
"Oh yeah. There are gyms all over the place, though. They're split into training rooms and battling rooms, so you can level up a little before actually fighting anyone, but... I don't know. Tidus seems to think that he actually gets better experience out here." Lisa shrugged. "Ready to go, Tidus-san?"  
  
"Yeah," Tidus said, sighing.  
  
"Return!"  
  
Tidus disappeared in a flash of light.  
  
"Say, where are you headed?" Lisa asked.  
  
"Whatever the next town is," Anya answered, shrugging.   
  
"It's a couple days to the west," Lisa said, pointing.  
  
"Is that where you came from?"  
  
"Nah, I came from the north. Lots of cool Bishonen up there. Hey, you know what? Maybe we can both go to the next town and train together and stuff! I haven't traveled with another human for so long!"  
  
Anya nodded. "Sure, why not?"  
  
"Great!"  
  
Anya glanced around, and spotted Kenshin still fooling around on the tree branch. She walked over and looked up. "Kenshin, we're going," she said.  
  
The Chibi ^_^ed. "OK, Annie-dono," he said, and jumped down. Startled, she caught him by instinct.  
  
"Do me a favor and don't do that without telling me from now on, OK? You surprised me," she told him. He smiled sheepishly. "Alright, let's get going then. I'd like to eat some restaurant food and sleep in a bed for a while."  
  
Lisa nodded. "Me too!"   
  
"Then let's get going! Let's stop talking about it," Sano muttered. "Women." He stalked off in one direction.  
  
Anya sighed, shook her head, smiled, and followed. Lisa followed behind.  
  
~*~  
  
Yay, finished! OK, um, if you guys wanna be in my ficcy, just let me know how you want to look, which Bishonen/ Bishujo you want to have, whether you want to be friend/ally/evil person/etc. And, just in case, you might want a small description of the Bishies in question. I don't know all animes. Here's what I do know-  
  
DBZ  
Gundam Wing  
Fushigi Yuugi  
Ranma 1 /2  
Slayers/Slayers Next/ you get the idea  
Rurouni Kenshin  
Inu Yasha  
Yu-Gi-Oh!  
  
  
Erm, that's all I can think of right now. Thank you again, and until next time! (waves) 


	7. Chapter Seven! Thanks for reviewing so q...

Chapter Seven- Meeting More Bishies  
Notes- Um, I wanted to add to my list of animes I know of. Here they are;  
Tenchi Muyo  
Sailor Moon   
Ronin Warriors  
Yu Yu Hakusho  
Princess Mononoke  
That's all I really can think of that I've seen. These, I forgot 'cause it's been so long since I've seen them! Anyway, hope you still enjoy my fic!  
  
P.S.- To whoever asked to 'use my idea'; the idea of Bishonen is NOT my idea. The person who made it has a huge website up- rather, she did at one point- and that- and a few other authors- is where I combined my ideas. Now, the towns and the rules of the Bishies are changed to my ideals, so if you meant that, go right ahead. But for the Bishonen part, go right ahead and knock yourself out. Let me know and I'll review it for ya. ^_^  
  
~*~  
  
Anya glanced around as she, Lisa, Sano and Chibi Kenshin walked past two guard posts that stood as the entrance to the town. "This is a big town," Anya stated.  
  
"Yeah," Lisa agreed. She pulled out her map and glanced at it. "It's got at least a couple thousand people here."  
  
"Wow!"  
  
"Yeah. It's a fairly populous place because it's got such a nice climate. According to this, I think we'll meet a lot of captured Bishonen around here, so we can, well, set our sights on someone or other." Lisa ^_^ed.  
  
Sano grunted. "Whatever."  
  
Lisa smiled at him. "Jealous?"  
  
"Why would I be jealous of some poor guy also being captured by her?" Sano jerked his head towards Anya.  
  
"Hey, buddy, you want to eat and sleep, you shut up," she said.  
  
He rolled his eyes.  
  
"Well, this is where we part ways," Lisa said. "How about we trade Dex numbers? That way we can keep in touch..."  
  
"Dex... Oh no! I forgot entirely!" Anya said.  
  
"What? What's wrong?" Chibi Kenshin asked, alarmed.  
  
"Oh, nothing's wrong, I just forgot to call everyone!" Anya said.  
  
"Who?" Sano asked. "We're the only people you've seen in the past week or so."  
  
"No, I met a bunch of other people before I caught you, Sano, and we traded Dex numbers and promised to call each other at least once a week. I can't believe I forgot," she said, half to herself.   
  
"Well, they haven't called you," Sano pointed out.  
  
"Maybe they forgot too," Lisa said.  
  
"Still... well, anyway, sure, let's trade," Anya said. "Here." She pulled out her Dex and proceeded to tell her number. Lisa pulled hers out and did the same for Anya. When they'd managed to get the right numbers and names into their Dex addresses, they put the Dexes away.  
  
"Well," Lisa said. "Maybe I'll catch you at the gym?"  
  
"Yeah, maybe," Anya said. "Nice to meet you."  
  
"Same here. Later." Lisa turned and nearly tripped over a rock.  
  
Anya covered her mouth to hide a smile as she watched yet another acquaintance walk away. This one was particularly accident-prone...  
  
/Well, time to get going,/ she decided when Lisa disappeared around a corner. /I'm not going to get any farther just standing here. I'll find somewhere to eat and try calling someone this evening. Who knows, maybe we went the same way./  
  
"Excuse me?" said a male voice behind her.  
  
"Eh?" Anya turned to see a grown Bishonen regarding her with an odd look. "Yeah?" She couldn't remember where she'd seen him, but he looked familiar.   
  
"I wanted to ask..." He leaned closer. Sano growled.  
  
"What?" Anya asked.  
  
"Will you... bear my child?"  
  
WACK!  
  
Anya winced away as a girl with a huge hammer picked the Bishonen up by the collar of his shirt. She had a very exasperated and angry expression on her face. Even Sano was edging away from this new trainer.  
  
"For the last TIME, Miroku, if ANYONE is going to have your child I am! STOP going around and asking random girls!"  
  
Anya blinked as the girl dragged the unconscious Miroku away, then glanced at Sano. "Now I remember who he is, from Inu-Yasha, right?"  
  
Sanosuke shrugged. "He's a friend of Inu-Yasha, if that's what you mean. Though not really a 'friend,'" he added, "but you get the idea."  
  
"Yeah, very few people call Inu-Yasha a friend," Anya agreed. "Well, are we going to find somewhere to eat before we wander around, or should we wander around first?"  
  
"Erm... I think we should find an inn and get a room or two," Sano said, glancing at Chibi Kenshin, who was in his arms. "Everyone's staring at us."  
  
Anya caught his slightly worried gaze and followed it to the Chibi, who was staring around at everyone who was passing them on the street. "Yeah, you're right. We can always order room service. What do you say, Kenshin? Wanna get waited on hand and foot?" she joked.  
  
The Chibi glanced away from a young man wandering around with a Filia and nodded. "Sure, Annie-dono!"  
  
Anya winced at the nickname, glared at Sano for grinning at her, then turned towards the nearest street and said, "Let's start looking, then."  
  
~*~  
  
"Hey, yeah, we need a room with..." Anya glanced at the two Bishonen.  
  
"Two beds," Sano supplied.  
  
Chibi Kenshin was staring at a coffee-maker, trying to figure out where the coffee was coming from. His face was screwed into an expression of intense concentration as he became more and more determined to figure it out on his own. Anya noticed this and just grinned to herself.  
  
The lady behind the desk nodded. "I see." She glanced at the Chibi and added in a low voice, "Will you need extra locks, miss?"  
  
"Huh? What for?"  
  
"Well... the young Chibi there..."  
  
Anya blinked. "??"  
  
"She wants to know if you want extra protection from his guardians, Missie," Sanosuke said. He snorted and shook his head. "Nah, we don't. I'm his guardian right now."  
  
"Oh, uh, I see." The lady obviously didn't see, but she went on as though she did. "Well, you can take room seventeen, right down the hallway. It's got a nice setup with cable if you want to watch anything, and room service is available until nine tonight." She handed Anya a key.  
  
"Thanks," Anya said. "Let's go."  
  
In the room, Kenshin was enchanted with the TV first, and then the bathroom. He was particularly interested in the toilet, which he started to flush again and again, trying to see what it was for. Finally, confused and frustrated, he demanded Sano to tell him.  
  
Sano refused, staying as far away from it as possible and muttering about ghosts.  
  
Anya rolled her eyes, quickly explained to the Chibi, and ushered him out before he wasted more water.  
  
The Chibi Kenshin returned to staring at the TV with a vacant expression on his face. Anya handed him the remote, and he began switching channels, turning the volume up and down. Finally Anya said, "Why don't we get something to eat?" and the two Bishonen agreed.  
  
After lunch, Anya stood and said, "I think I'd like to wander around town again. You guys want to come with?"  
  
"You mean we get a choice?" Sano asked, glancing up at her.  
  
"Well, yeah, why not?"  
  
"Usually it's a requirement."  
  
"Well, I'm only going a few blocks away," Anya said. "So it's not that dangerous for you, is it?"  
  
"Nah, it's just considered weird for a trainer to go out by herself," Sano said. "Sometimes it's for company, but in bad streets it can be for the trainer's protection. And as good as your punch is, Missie, it's not that good."  
  
"What, worried about me?" Anya teased.  
  
"Dammit, if you want to get beat up by a thug because I'm not there, be my guest," Sano said, and flopped onto the bed. Kenshin immediately crawled over to shove the remote in his face. Sano jumped off the bed and was at the door an instant later. "Y'know, on second thought a walk wouldn't be a bad idea," he added, glancing at the remote. He almost seemed to expect it to leap at him and attack him.  
  
Anya frowned. "Sano, does technology really bother you that much?"  
  
"I'll live. Let's just go."  
  
"What about Kenshin?"  
  
"Well..." Sano surveyed the Chibi for a moment. "Yeah, it'd be best if he came along. If anyone heard about a Chibi by himself in this room... kami save him and the room. And Kami help us, when we got back."  
  
"Yeah. The trainers," Anya remembered, and winced.  
  
"And all of our people," Sano reminded her. "They don't know that Kenshin gave you permission to take care of his kid, so they'll be keeping an eye on you."  
  
"This would not be a problem if I were older, that it would not," a young voice cut in. Both glanced down to see the Chibi regarding them with a grave expression on his face. "And I will not be older until I train," he continued.  
  
"How does a Chibi train?" Anya asked.  
  
"We could get him a small sword," Sano suggested. At her murderous glare, he added, "I meant a WOODEN sword, Missie. I'm not that stupid."  
  
"I hope not." She glanced down at the Chibi. "Well, would you object to a training sword, Kenshin? You could easily practice with that."  
  
The Chibi didn't look too happy at the idea of a wooden sword, but nodded anyway. "Any training will help, that it will," he said.  
  
"Well, let's just go and buy you one," she said. "Are there weapon stores?"  
  
"Obviously. And item stores, too," Sano added.  
  
"Cool. Let's go find a few."  
  
~*~  
  
The small group found a weapons store only fifteen minutes later, and wandered on in to see a few other trainers with their Bishonen and Bishujo looking over various weapons. A Tifa was arguing with her trainer over what kind of gloves she wanted, while a Gourry was busy admiring a sword with a golden hilt. His trainer was standing nearby tapping her foot.  
  
"Well, it seems to be a pretty good store," Anya observed.  
  
"Most of them are. Just gotta watch out for prices," Sano said.  
  
Anya frowned. "How do you know?" she asked him.  
  
He shrugged. "It's the same as back home, only got different people and items."  
  
Anya watched him for a moment- he wasn't telling her everything- but then shrugged back and turned towards a shelf with wooden swords. "Do they have small ones?" she asked, setting the Chibi down (she'd been carrying him) to look through them.  
  
At the Chibi's somewhat injured expression she added, "Kenshin, it's just so you get used to using one a lot, that's all. You'll get a bigger one later, honest. Then you can get a metal one. Deal?"  
  
Chibi Kenshin looked a lot happier at that statement and stood on tiptoe to look at a few of the swords at his height.  
  
"Can I help you?" asked someone behind them.  
  
Anya turned and flashed a smile at the older woman. "We're looking for a small wooden sword."  
  
"Small wooden sword? ...Oh, let me guess, you're getting one for your Bishonen's new Chibi?" the woman asked, peering at Kenshin. "He's pretty cute."  
  
"Yeah, um, you could say that," Anya said. "He wants to start training. So what would you suggest?"  
  
"HIKARI NO KEN!"  
  
Everyone ducked as a huge flash of light burst from one corner of the room. The light eventually faded, and Anya glanced over to see the Gourry was looking at the sword he'd been admiring with a sad expression on his face.  
  
"It's still not as long as the Sword of Light," he muttered. "Five inches, and it'll be perfect..." He began rummaging through more metal swords, oblivious to everyone else around him.  
  
Blushing in embarrassment, his trainer hit him over the head- which he didn't feel- and bowed in apology to the shopkeeper. "Sorry," she called, and went back to watching her Bishonen.  
  
The shopkeeper sighed. "They're in here every week. Honestly, if that Bishonen would only keep his Light Sword he wouldn't be causing so much trouble here! Oh well..." She turned back to Anya. "Here's what I suggest..."  
  
In about ten minutes, Kenshin was staring at a wooden sword in his hands with open awe and happiness. He hugged it to himself tightly as Anya paid the woman and they left.  
  
Sano had an eyebrow raised. "Say, Missie, since when did you have money to spend, anyhow?"  
  
"Lisa, remember? I won the match so she gave me money to help out here," Anya replied.   
  
"Oh. I thought you were doing something and not telling us," Sano teased.  
  
"Oh no, I leave thievery to you, Sano."  
  
"Thievery! I do not steal!"  
  
"Nor do I!" announced a voice at their feet.  
  
Anya glanced down to see a young looking Bishonen with very long hair tied back in a topknot, with blue leggings, and an odd staff that had a pouch with belongings on it. The Bishonen was watching them cheerfully.  
  
"I never steal, but people always say I do. I never! You know how that feels? It's so awful, and horribly annoying of people to blame their mistakes on someone else. Why, once someone claimed I stole their ring. I did no such thing! They dropped it! They were very lucky that I was there to find it!"  
  
Sano edged away from the Bishonen, grabbing Kenshin and his sword and taking them with him. "Anya," he warned.   
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
"This is a Tasslehoff-"  
  
"Tasslehoff Burrfoot! But you can call me Tas! My friends call me Tas! Well, Raistlin never did, but then again he never really was a good friend. Why, he tried to kill me once, and he killed a friend of mine. He was really nice at one point though, he magicked me into a duck pond. Have you ever just appeared into a duck pond? It's the most amazing-"  
  
"Uh, no, I haven't," Anya said, overwhelmed by the Bishonen's constant talking.  
  
"-and then he called me a doorknob! Oh well, at least I don't lose my daggers!" the Bishonen was continuing. "Oh well. Poor Flint. I'm sure he's having fun with Fizban, though. Have you ever met Fizban? He's a nice wizard, but he can't really remember his name, and he always forgets where he leaves his hat. It's funny though since it's always on his head-"  
  
"Right..."  
  
"TASSLEHOFF BURRFOOT!" hollered a woman nearby. "YOU GET OVER HERE NOW!"  
  
"Coming!" Tas called cheerfully, and nodded politely at Anya. "See you, it was nice to meet you. Maybe next time you can tell me your names, then we can talk all about ourselves. Who knows, in my opinion trainers make pretty good kenders, and my trainer agrees with me, but no one else seems to..." He jumped as he heard his name hollered again. "Well, I must go!" he said, and ran off.  
  
Sano quickly began looking over Anya. "Are you missing anything?" he asked, eyes on the Bishonen.  
  
"Uh, I don't think so," Anya said, confused.  
  
"Good." Sano settled back in satisfaction. "That was a kender Bishonen. They're a lot of trouble. Though they say they aren't, they ARE thieves. They're just so natural and good-natured, however, that they don't notice that they're stealing." He snorted.  
  
"Kender...?" Anya questioned.  
  
"Have you ever picked up a book?" Sano asked, sighing. "Never mind. Let's just get going. People are staring again."  
  
As they wandered out of the store, they heard a couple Bishonen arguing.  
  
"I don't see why ya gotta make fun of my talking, ya know?" one whined.  
  
"Well, don't make fun of mine, and we'll get along fine, ya?" the other said. "You leave me alone, I leave you alone. Ya?"  
  
"Well next time maybe you should be more polite, ya know," the first complained. "At least Fujin never complained about my talking, ya know? What's with people these days? Not used to hearing people talk differently I guess, ya know?"  
  
Anya blinked. "Whoa, a Wakka and a Rajin together? What a weird idea."  
  
Sano snorted. "Get them together with a Chichiri, a Kenshin, and a few others, and they'll have a holiday swapping ways to end a sentence- ITAI!"  
  
Anya removed her hand from Sano's shoulder, which he rubbed gingerly. "Don't talk that way about Chichiri OR Kenshin," she said. "I'll have you know they're some of my favorite characters and I LIKE the way they talk."  
  
"Great," Sano sighed.  
  
"What's wrong with the way I talk, Uncle San?" the Chibi asked curiously. "Am I speaking wrong, am I?"  
  
"No, no, it's just... er... damn," Sano swore. "I give up." He turned and headed down the street.   
  
Anya watched the two arguing Bishonen for another moment, grabbed Kenshin's hand, and followed her older Bishonen.  
  
"And another thing, ya know!" Rajin's voice floated through the crowd. "I'm tired of people saying I whine constantly, ya know?"  
  
"That's because you do, ya?"  
  
Anya sighed and tuned out of the two Bishonen.  
  
/Some people,/ she thought. Then for fun, she added mentally, /No da./ Smiling, she kept following Sanosuke down the street.  
  
~*~  
  
End of chapter seven! Happiness! OK, for Bishonen and Bishujo in this chapter...  
  
1. Miroku's a guy in Inu-Yasha. He keeps asking girls to bear his child. Very special.  
2. Tifa is a female character in Final Fantasy Seven. She runs a bar and is the childhood friend of the main character of the game. Fights with her fists.  
3. Gourry is a blonde with REALLY long hair from Slayers. He's dumb as a rock but really nice, and carries the Sword of Light.   
4. Tasslehoff Burrfoot is a character in one of my fave book series, Dragonlance. He's a kender (four feet tall, curious, takes things, hates it when people call them thieves). Friends with Fizban, who's really the god Paladine, and a dwarf named Flint.  
5. Wakka is from Final Fantasy Ten. He has a tendency to add, "Ya" at the end of his sentences when he asks a question. Coach of a blitzball team.  
6. Rajin is from Final Fantasy Eight. He's a friend of a woman named Fujin who only says one word at a time. He talks a lot and always says "ya know?" whenever he asks a question.  
  
Erm, that covers 'em. Yeah, in case you didn't notice I'll have plenty of book and game characters as well as anime in here too. And no, I have nothing against the characters Rajin and Wakka. ^_^ Until next time. 


	8. Chapter Eight! I feel so loved!

Chapter Eight- The Gym  
Notes- OK, I'm adding folks in now, one at a time! I'm sorry I'll only give you up to three of your Bishies you asked for, because any more and I'll get confused. So please don't get upset if you only get two and someone else gets three. It's most likely because I only knew how to play out those two characters. And you may or may not only show up a few times in my story. I apologize for that, because so many have asked to be in this and I want to get as many trainers as possible in here! Anyway, please enjoy!  
  
~*~  
  
Anya peered through the small screen on the Dex at the person on the screen. "Jenna, is that you?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah. Anya, right?"  
  
"Yep. What's up?"  
  
The figure on the screen smiled. "Oh, it's been so great here! I've already caught four Bishonen and a Bishujo! They took a while to get used to and to get along with, but now we're having a cool time. What's up with you?"  
  
"I've got two Bishonen so far. They're both from Rurouni Kenshin. I got Kenshin and Sano."  
  
"Really? Neat!"  
  
"So have you heard from Jake or Ashley?"  
  
The girl on the screen glanced around uneasily, as though not wanting to be overheard, before leaning into her own Dex. Anya frowned at that, wondering what was wrong. "Well, I was going with Ashley at first, you know, because neither of us really wanted to go on our own and stuff. But... we parted a ways a few days ago, and, well, it's been over two weeks..." she trailed off.  
  
"Oh, that sucks. And she never caught anyone?"  
  
"No, she left them all to me. Said they weren't the ones she wanted."  
  
"Aw, come on! She could have gotten to like them, or even free them once she caught someone she liked," Anya snorted.  
  
"That's what I said."  
  
"What about Jake?"  
  
"Haven't heard from him. Maybe I'll try calling him in a minute."  
  
"Good idea."  
  
"So have you got any idea as to what these gyms are for?"  
  
"Yeah, someone explained it to me the other day. She said they're for building up the Bishonen's strengths, and yours too if you want to work out. There's a work out room and a fighting room, according to her. But she also said you have to get your Bishonen to consent to fight or something like that. I'm heading to the one in this town to check it out today." Anya stretched a little and shifted slightly in her seat, glancing at her two Bishonen. "When my Bishies wake up, of course."  
  
Jenna smiled. "Yeah, really. One of mine refuses to wake up until it's near noon."  
  
"Whoa. Well, I'm getting a little hungry..."  
  
"Yeah, well, thanks for calling. I was getting worried that no one else had, you know, caught a Bishie yet."  
  
"Pretty sad if we all failed in that, eh?"  
  
"Yeah. Bye."  
  
"Bye." Anya glanced down at the commands and said, "End."  
  
The screen faded, and she put the Dex into her pocket. She headed over to the bathroom to make sure she still didn't have bed hair, and came back out as Sano was sleepily rubbing an eye and turning on his side, readying to sleep again.  
  
Anya picked up a nearby pillow and hit him with it.  
  
"Itai! What's yer problem?" he mumbled, snatching the pillow and stuffing it under his head.  
  
"It's time to get up," she said.  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
"Almost ten."  
  
"Only that? Leave me alone..." He closed his eyes.  
  
She threw another pillow at him.  
  
"ITAI!" he yelped, and threw the pillow back at her. "Will you cut that out? What did I do to you?"  
  
"Fine, you don't eat until lunch. Kenshin, time to get up."  
  
The Chibi, who'd woken up at Sano's yell, rubbed an eye, looked around, and jumped off his bed to wander into the bathroom. "What's for breakfast, Annie-dono?" he called.  
  
"I think we'll order pancakes, with bacon and sausage and lots of fruits and juice," Anya said, ticking off every good breakfast thing she could think of. She grinned to herself as she saw Sano start to drool as he pictured the foods. "Sano of course won't be coming with us, so I hope you're extra hungry."  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what makes you think that, Missie?" Sano demanded, sitting up. He stretched, yawned, and muttered, "Slave driver." Then he stumbled out of the bed.  
  
"You made me think that. You want to sleep. I'm letting you stay here and sleep. Come on, Kenshin."  
  
The Chibi smiled and followed Anya to the door. Sano began to stumble after them. Anya winked at Kenshin and swiftly closed the door. There was a loud thud.  
  
"ITAI! Dammit, Missie, let me through!"  
  
"You should watch where you're going!" she called teasingly, but opened the door. Then she picked up her Chibi and ran through the door.  
  
~*~  
  
After breakfast, Anya, Sanosuke, and Kenshin were standing in front of a huge three story building that seemed about as large as her old high school. Anya whistled, impressed.  
  
"Wow. This must be some gym, eh?"  
  
"Well it has to be, if it's for fighting AND for working out," Sano said.  
  
"Good point." Anya cocked her head, looking at the door. "Well, let's go in and see if there's something you two can't do to work out, and someone for me to talk to."  
  
"Why don't you work out?"  
  
"Because I'm lazy," she responded with a grin. "Now let's go on in."  
  
"I would love to test my sword out, that I would," Kenshin agreed, glancing at his small sword.  
  
Sano and Anya nodded at the same time. Then they looked at each other in surprise. Finally, deciding they'd ignore that that happened, they headed into the gym with Kenshin.  
  
The gym had a neat lobby that seemed to be able to hold about twenty or so people, if it was filled. As it were, there was only one other trainer pacing around with a group of yawning Bishonen and a Bishujo. Other than that, and a lady behind one of those professional desks, there was no one in sight.  
  
Deciding to ask what they could do here, Anya approached the lady behind the desk and said, "Hi. Um, we're sort of new to gyms..."  
  
The lady flashed a smile. "Welcome to our training gym, then! We do our best to get the right workouts for you and your Bishonen. We're just about to open in a couple moments."  
  
"Could you tell me what we can do here until it opens?" Anya asked, glancing at her two Bishonen; Sano was carrying Kenshin in his arms again. The Chibi was still cradling his wooden sword in open excitement and barely-contained anticipation.  
  
"Of course. There's a free-for-all area that the Bishonen can work out in, either separately or in groups as they and their trainers wish. If you didn't know, you are welcome to join your Bishonen in their training. It brings you all together more and gets you in more shape. There is a slightly separate area for weapons training.  
  
"Then there is the weight room, it's almost as large as the free-for-all, with maybe thirty or forty machines for everyone to use. There, you and your Bishonen can work on strengthening your muscles.  
  
"But that's all only on the training area. The other half of the gym is used for actual battling between trainers. Of course, you and your Bishonen will have to sign consent forms before that is allowed. From time to time, we will have the strongest resident trainer come in and challenge the trainers who are still traveling from town to town. If you win against him, then you can enter the data into your Dex for future usage. Do you understand all of that?"  
  
Anya nodded. "Are there... other spaces for Chibis?" she asked hesitantly, glancing at her Kenshin.  
  
The lady finally seemed to notice the Chibi, and froze, glancing nervously at the other trainer in the room. She too had heard the word 'Chibi' and was peering over at Anya and her group. Her Bishonen were too, but they didn't look curious; they looked deadly.  
  
Sanosuke seemed to realize that his trainer could be in potential danger because she had a Chibi with her. "Ah, a friend gave 'im to her. Said she had too many Bishonen already, they might trample 'im," he said as casually as possible. He went so far as to lean against the desk and wink at the lady behind it. "Parents weren't too happy, but gave 'er permission."  
  
"Born captive, then," one of the other trainer's Bishonen muttered. The others nodded and, satisfied, turned away. The trainer was still looking at Anya and the Chibi, but soon returned to her pacing as well.  
  
The lady relaxed as well. "I'm sorry, we don't have anything especially for Chibis," she said.  
  
"Is there a place I can practice with my sword, that is?" Chibi Kenshin asked curiously. He held up his wooden swords.  
  
If someone had asked Anya later on, she would have sworn that hearts actually popped out and circled the lady's head when she looked at the Chibi. "Of course, we can lower some of the practice bags for you if you like, young man," she said.   
  
A bell rang.  
  
The lady glanced up at the clock. "The gym's officially opened," she said. "You may go on in and do as you please. Just make sure to sign in at the doors to any part of the gym you enter, for regulatory reasons you understand."  
  
"Of course, thank you," Anya said, and headed towards another set of doors that said 'Free-For-All' on it. "How about we check out the weapons area first?" she asked her Bishonen.  
  
Sano shrugged. "If there're punching bags, I don't give," he answered.  
  
"Yes, let's go!" Chibi Kenshin said.  
  
Anya smiled at the Chibi and reached out to ruffle his hair a little. He ^_^ed at her and returned his attention to his wooden sword. /Kawaii,/ she thought.  
  
The free-for-all room was huge, about the size of a football field. Anya stared in amazement as they walked in. Every sound they made echoed in the huge room.  
  
"Wow," she whispered. "How did they make such a huge room?"  
  
"With wood and nails, I'd guess," Sanosuke replied.  
  
She hit him on the shoulder, and he smirked at her. She turned away to look around again. "It's definitely big enough for a lot of people to come in and work out without getting in each other's way." Then she frowned. "And there's the weapon section, way over there." She pointed at the other side of the room.  
  
Suddenly, she found herself holding Kenshin as Sano placed him in her arms and ran off, shouting, "Bet I'll beat you!"  
  
"CHEATER!" she hollered, and tore after him, Kenshin in her arms. Kenshin ^_^ed again and clung on for dear life as she pounded across the room.  
  
However, she was not by nature the best of runners, and was soon standing by a triumphant Sano's side, panting and trying not to drop Chibi Kenshin. Kenshin politely slid out of her arms before racing over to the practice bags themselves.  
  
Sano made a victory sign at Anya before wandering over to a few punching bags. "Hey, I like this," he announced to no one in particular. He hit one of the bags. It swung back and forth wildly. "I like this a lot."  
  
"Good for you," Anya mumbled. "You find anything, Kenshin?"  
  
"Yes," came the answer. "But I can't reach the practice bags, that I can not!" His voice sounded exasperated. She wandered through the various weapons practice things and found the Chibi repeatedly trying to jump up and hit one of the bags.  
  
"Well, let me get it for you," she said, smiling. She looked at the machine holding the bag, and after fumbling with it managed to lower it enough for Kenshin to jump up and hit it. "There, give that a shot."  
  
Chibi Kenshin gave one of his little smiles in thanks, and Anya was surprised she was still able to stand. /Sometimes I wonder if being a Kenshin fan is such a good thing,/ she thought as he managed to hit the bag. He let out a happy cry of triumph before fixing his grip on his sword and hitting the bag again.  
  
She glanced over to see that Sano had moved from the punching bags to the kicking ones, and were punching those instead. She wandered over to the punching bags. /Are these really that weak?/ she wondered. She balled up a fist and slammed it into one of them.  
  
At impact, the bag shook around, but not quite as wildly as it had when Sanosuke hit it.  
  
Frowning, she balled up her other fist and swung it. The same thing happened.  
  
She began to hit the darn bag with her fists multiple times, finally stopping and watching in satisfaction when it began to shake as hard as when Sano had swung at it. Nodding once, she turned to Sano, who was staring at her. "What?" she asked.  
  
"You're such an idiot," he said, walking over and grabbing her hands. "You'll hurt your knuckles if you do that without proper training..." He immediately began to inspect both of her hands.  
  
Feeling a little embarrassed, she pulled her hands away. "I'm fine," she retorted.  
  
He shrugged. "Whatever, Missie. You don't want advice, fine. Don't ask for it when you're hurting." He returned to the kicking bag.  
  
"I don't think being called an idiot is really advice," she told him. She turned away and punched the bag a few more times to prove her point that she was fine. /I'll show him,/ she thought in satisfaction. /I know what I'm doing, I've punched a bag once or twice back home.../  
  
She stopped and glanced back towards the door across the room. Anya frowned for a moment. /I could have sworn I heard someone... there they are./  
  
A young woman was making her way into the room with a protesting Hotohori Bishonen on one side and a yawning Duo on the other side.   
  
"You don't understand, Miya-chan," Hotohori was protesting. "If I don't give my hair the proper five hundred strokes at least twice a day, why, you never know what will happen to my beauty!"   
  
/Beauty indeed,/ Anya thought, staring at the Bishonen. /Whoo boy. I don't know if I'll be able to stop from glomping him if HE comes any closer! I LOVE Hotohori!/  
  
The trainer's Duo stretched as he walked. "Ne, the least they could have here is some flight simulators," he grumbled.  
  
The trainer- called Miya-chan- started to yawn too, but firmly suppressed it, to the amusement of her Bishonen. "Come on, guys. The earlier we train, the faster we get stronger, and the more free time we have to fool around... yes, and admire your beauty, Hotohori-sama."  
  
Hotohori looked momentarily pained. "Please refrain from calling me that, Miya-chan. It reminds me too much..." he trailed off.  
  
Anya frowned for a moment, then remembered. /Oh yeah. Nuriko called him that a lot in the show. No wonder he doesn't want his trainer to call him that.../  
  
"Would you prefer Hoto-chan?" Miya-chan teased.  
  
"I am an emperor!" he scoffed. "That is quite an undignified name!"  
  
"It suits you, then," Duo said. "Man- hey, can you believe it? Other people got here earlier than us!" He pointed across the room to Anya.  
  
Anya blushed deeply at listening in on them. Caught, she waved a hand sheepishly. "Uh, hi," she said.  
  
The trainer jogged over, leaving her Bishonen behind for a moment. "Hi!" she began, and suddenly yawned.  
  
Anya smiled. "Careful, you'll get me doing that," she joked.  
  
"Yeah, it's contagious," the trainer admitted. "So you got here when it opened?"  
  
"Yeah, before it opened actually," Anya said. "I'm Anya. I got here a couple weeks ago."  
  
Miya-chan smiled back. "I'm Miya-chan, as you probably heard. I've been here three months. So how's your luck been so far?"  
  
"Well, I have two Bishonen with me so far. Same for you?"  
  
"Actually, I have a few others. I have Seto Kaiba, for one. He threatened to use his technology against me if I woke him up before eleven, though..." Miya-chan shook her head. "You do NOT want to mess with a pissed, insomniac Seto. It's just scary."  
  
"I'll keep that in mind," Anya promised. "Where have you travelled so far? Not that I would recognize very many names," she admitted.  
  
"Well, I've stayed around here the whole time." Miya-chan shrugged.  
  
"Eh? How come?" Anya asked.  
  
"Oh, come on. With Fushigi Yuugi and Gundam Wing Bishonen abounding around here, who would want to leave?" Miya-chan asked with a grin.  
  
"Who're you talkin to, Missie?" Sano asked, peering over her shoulder. Then he snorted. "Another trainer. Wonderful."  
  
"Be nice," Anya said. "Miya-chan, this is Sanosuke. He's my first Bishonen. I also have Kenshin, but he's practicing with his sword right now."  
  
Miya-chan winced. "Oh, no. I hope you blunted his blade on both sides. Even with blunted sides these bags'll be gone in a short while."  
  
Anya shifted, feeling a little uncomfortable. "Uh, not really, they'll still be here. Kenshin's still... young."  
  
"Young, you say?" Hotohori said sharply. "And what does that mean?"  
  
"He's a Chibi," she answered, glancing away.  
  
"A Chibi! How did you capture him? Aren't his parents after you?" Miya-chan demanded.  
  
"No, his parents gave me consent!" Anya protested.  
  
"And I'm his guardian. He ain't fightin till he's older," Sano spoke up. "And I'm HER guardian too, buddy," he said to Hotohori, who still looked a little wary of Anya.  
  
"Wow. Can... I see him?" Miya-chan asked.  
  
Anya sighed. /Will I have to go through this all the time? I hope Kenshin grows into his next stage soon. Otherwise I'll have to go around with a sign around my neck or something. "Yes, I have a Chibi but his folks gave me consent. Ask and Sano shall harm you."/ She smiled at that thought then. "Of course. Hey, Kenshin," she called.  
  
A moment later, Chibi Kenshin trotted out to meet his trainer. Miya-chan squealed and was about to reach out to glomp him when Hotohori and Duo both casually locked their arms around their trainers', preventing her from doing so. "He's so kawaii!" she said.  
  
"Who's this, that is?" Kenshin asked Anya.  
  
"Another trainer," Anya answered.  
  
Chibi Kenshin looked at Miya-chan for a long moment, then nodded. "She looks like you," he announced in satisfaction.  
  
Miya-chan raised an eyebrow.  
  
"We ran into a half Bishujo out in the forest who tried to take him," Anya explained.  
  
At this, Hotohori looked like he'd stepped in something unpleasant and Duo looked disgusted. "Figures," Duo mumbled.   
  
Sano, however, was looking at the two Bishonen, ignoring the conversation. "Ne, when were you captured?" he asked them.  
  
Hotohori returned to looking dignified. "I prefer not to call it captured," he replied.  
  
"A month ago," Duo answered with a shrug. "Why?"  
  
"I wanted to ask something of both of you." He glanced at the two trainers, then at the Bishonen meaningfully. "Mind if we step outside a sec?"  
  
Both Bishonen now looked curious and a little nervous. "Of course," Hotohori said. He politely bowed to the trainers before turning and following Sano and Duo out of the room.  
  
"Heeey?" Miya-chan asked. "Where're they going?"  
  
"I don't know," Anya admitted. "Sano acts weird every time we run into other Bishonen. He keeps asking when they were caught."  
  
Miya-chan shook her head. "It's rude or something to do that," she said. "Once, Seto asked another Bishonen that and we nearly had to rush him to a hospital for asking."  
  
"I guess some Bishonen are a little resentful."  
  
"You could say that. What ARE they doing...?"  
  
~*~ With Sano ~*~  
  
Sanosuke closed the door firmly behind him and glanced around. The three Bishonen were standing in a bathroom, and no one else was present. After checking for this, Sano turned to the other two.  
  
Hotohori's eyebrows were raised. "I presume this has something to do with when we were free?" he asked.  
  
"I thought you preferred not to be called captured," Sano said.  
  
The emperor Bishonen stiffened. "Tell us what you wanted to tell us, and let us be on our way," he said.  
  
"Yeah, I so wanna get this over with," Duo said. He leaned against a nearby wall and folded his arms. "So spill it."  
  
"I don't know for sure what's been going on, but there's something real wrong happening. In our territories, there were reports on Bishonen disappearing for weeks, then reappearing beaten almost to death. Some just disappeared without a trace, but in alarming numbers."  
  
"The second part is natural, considering it's time for new trainers to come now," Hotohori said. "However, Bishonen being beaten within an inch of their lives disturbes me."  
  
"We had those kinda reports too, from the scouts," Duo said. "A Heero disappeared once when I was still a Chibi, and returned when I was in San mode. But he went mad and died two days later. We think he was still linked to his trainer."  
  
"He was either an idiot, or there's a trainer out there who has a really sick mind to do that," Hotohori said. "But why ask us? We are obviously no longer free; we cannot help our free kin."  
  
"We can too," Sano answered. "Just spread the word, get more information. You never know."  
  
"Yeah, well, thanks for the tip," Duo said. His face held a sad expression, a look that people rarely saw on his face. He was lost in his memories of when that Heero had returned.  
  
/"Must... return... must... mission..."/ Duo quoted to himself. /He went mad saying those things over and over... Damn. And we couldn't do a thing./  
  
Sano snorted. "Well, I'm going back to my trainer." He opened the door and left.  
  
Duo remained in his memories for a few more minutes, then turned to Hotohori. "What do you think?" he asked.  
  
"I believe that Sanosuke is correct. Something is very wrong, if more than one territory has this problem," Hotohori said quietly.  
  
"That's what I thought you'd say."  
  
~*~ With the trainers ~*~  
  
"Hey, here they come," Miya-chan said brightly.  
  
Anya glanced up to see Sano coming back towards them. A few feet behind him were Duo and Hotohori, who both looked very thoughtful.  
  
"I wonder what they talked about," the other trainer continued.  
  
Anya shrugged. "Beats me."  
  
Chibi Kenshin slid out of Miya-chan's lap and raced towards Sano, who caught him and picked him up. "Hey Uncle San!" he said happily. "I can use my sword good, that I can!"  
  
"Course you can. You're a Kenshin," Sano replied. "Are we done here, Missie?"  
  
"I wanted to check out the fighting room," Anya said.   
  
He shrugged. "Fine, but I don't feel like fighting much right now."  
  
"What, wear yourself out on the bags? You're getting careless, Sano."  
  
"Me? Careless? Never."  
  
"Ha." Anya stood and sighed. "Sanosukes."  
  
Miya-chan smiled. "Yeah. And Duos and Hotohoris."  
  
"What about us?" Duo asked as he approached.  
  
"Nothing!" Miya-chan ^_^ed.  
  
Sano rolled his eyes. "So are we going or what?"  
  
"Yep, yep," Anya agreed. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Miya-chan," she said to the trainer.   
  
"Yeah, it's cool meeting other trainers closer to one's age," Miya-chan said. "Can you believe there are trainers here that are like thirty or forty?"  
  
Anya shrugged. "Hey, I think that's cool. Means adults like this stuff too."  
  
Miya-chan nodded. "Very true. Point taken. Hey, let's swap Dex numbers!"  
  
"Alrighty!"  
  
They did so quickly. Anya managed to put in the number this time without having to fix anything she said to it, a fact she was pretty proud of. After that, the two trainers stood there awkwardly with their Bishonen.  
  
"Well, uh... I live around here, got a house and all. Next time you're in this town, drop by, eh?" Miya-chan said.   
  
"Thanks," Anya said.   
  
Miya-chan waved a little at Chibi Kenshin. "Bye, Kenshin!"  
  
"Goodbye, Miss Miya-chan!" he said, and ^_^ed.  
  
While Miya-chan smiled at this, Sano muttered, "Isn't that bad grammar?" under his breath. Both trainers ignored him.  
  
"Later!" Anya said, and she and her Bishonen left the room to check out the fighting room.  
  
~*~  
  
Whew. Well, there's one person in. I hope you don't mind how I portrayed you, Sirius Amore (Miya-chan). I'll add someone else in next chapter too. OK, Neko-chan, you bribed me. Let's see your next chapter, eh? ^_^ Whenever you got the time, anyway.   
  
To everyone else, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I actually have a plot besides capturing Bishies, though that's always a good enough plot in itself, ne? Yay! More plot means I actually get off my butt and write more, by the way. At least most of the time...  
  
Sano- You're babbling. -_-   
  
Shut up, Sano. ANYWAY;  
  
Hotohori is a character from Fushigi Yuugi. He is severely cute and hot and all that other good Bishie stuff, and he knows it. He likes to admire himself in a mirror. I believe he actually says at one point, "I didn't give permission to let any other men be as beautiful as I am!" to Nuriko. I don't know, I only read part of THAT manga like weeks ago. But yeah, he's cool.  
  
Duo, well, you know who he is by now. ^_^  
  
Until next time, everyone! 


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine- Agreements  
Notes- Wow, I feel so loved! ^_^ Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and thanks to those who are reading this but are not reviewing. If you hate this story, then thank you for NOT reviewing my story. Thanks in general! (hugs readers, who look mildly disturbed) I don't know why I'm acting this way. Hyper? That happens like once in a blue moon! Oh well, works for me.   
  
Oh, and another note, thanks to the author SSJ Heero who told me how to spell Bishoujo correctly!   
  
~*~  
  
The redhead figure sighed and turned to stare out the window, her gray eyes reflecting boredom and a little wistfulness. She stood, apparently alone, in her own hotel room. It was almost dawn, and the false light made the figure seem all the more gloomy.  
  
"What's the point if there's no challenge anymore?" she questioned the false dawn. "It was fun at first, but this is pointless. The battles are nothing but nuisances. I haven't lost for the longest time. And I don't want any more Bishonen or Bishoujo."   
  
"Why not battle me, then?" asked a male voice from behind her.  
  
The redhead turned to smile slightly at the male behind her. "Please. If I challenged all of your Bishonen AND your Bishoujo with my bare hands I'd still win."  
  
"I highly doubt that."  
  
"I don't." She returned her gaze to the mirror. "Your Bishoujo are too perky for me, anyway."  
  
"With you sitting up here all by yourself like this, I can't say I doubt that." The male glanced around, and took a few more steps into the room. "Don't you like your Bishonen's company?"  
  
"It's a good time to be depressed, you know. Then you can spend the entire day getting cheered up by your Bishonen. Besides." The redhead drew herself up, chin held haughtily in the air. "I have every right to be this way."  
  
The male laughed a little. "Well, why don't I make things interesting for you, then?"  
  
"I highly doubt that," she said, mimicking his earlier words.  
  
"What if I told you that an acquaintance of mine was making a new technology this world has never seen?"  
  
"Then I would laugh at you."  
  
"No, honestly," he protested. "This is an actual success that she's had. I was surprised myself until I found it could work."  
  
"What?" she found herself compelled to ask.  
  
The male leaned a little closer to the redhead. "A way to capture the Halflings AND keep them from going mad."  
  
The redhead perked up instantly. "People would appreciate us for getting them out of everyone's hair, if they were all considered Bishonen," she said thoughtfully.  
  
"Yes, appreciate enough to make us public heroes."  
  
The redhead smirked and turned to face the black-haired male with flashing emerald green eyes. It was an interesting contrast between the two; her bright hair and dark eyes, his bright eyes and dark hair. They were nearly opposites. It was amazing how well they worked together.  
  
"Why don't we go see this friend of yours? If we could capture Halflings as well as full-bloods, then the challenge would return," she said.  
  
"Yes, why don't we?" he agreed.  
  
~*~  
  
Anya hummed as she made her way down the path, carrying her Chibi Kenshin in her arms (he was fast asleep) and walking next to her other Bishonen, Sanosuke. He seemed deep in thought. She amused herself for a while in wondering what he was thinking about, but turned her attention to the road ahead when she began to run out of ideas.  
  
They were on the road now to a town called Eutriv City, said to have a gym. The lady at their hotel had mentioned that a particularly good trainer was going to show up to challenge people in the next two weeks.  
  
Besides, the city was in the heart of Gundam Wing Bishonen territory.  
  
And that wasn't really a bad thing.  
  
Sanosuke stretched his arms over his head, staring at the road ahead. Then, "How much farther?"  
  
Anya reached over with a hand to hit him on the shoulder. "That's the tenth time you've said that," she told him.  
  
"Why do you bother keeping score? So how much farther?"  
  
"Eleven times."  
  
"Will you shut up and tell me already?"  
  
Anya shook her head. "We've got at least twenty miles to cover."  
  
"Daaaamn."  
  
"Don't swear in front of Kenshin."  
  
"I say what I want."  
  
"Not if you want food."  
  
"...You know I hate you, right?"  
  
"Yes, you've never failed to tell me at least once a day," she said, rolling her eyes. "What else is new?"  
  
Kenshin suddenly yawned, then stretched. He glanced around with his sleepy eyes, and then looked up at Anya. "How much farther are we, Annie-dono?" he asked.  
  
Sano started laughing as Anya fell over, then stood up, all the while careful not to hurt her Chibi Bishonen. "Don't you start, UNCLE SAN," she said to him. Sanosuke shrugged. "We've got about twenty miles, Kenshin. Do you want to sleep more?"  
  
"I'll walk a while, that I will," the Chibi replied. Anya let him down, and he stretched again. "Aah, I feel very awake now, that I do!"  
  
"Great," Anya said. "Let's keep going."  
  
For a while, their walk was very quiet and peaceful. Anya admired the scenery around her, and how there were no technology sounds beyond it all. No cars, no lights, just the technology in the cities themselves. And they didn't really have many cars, either...  
  
"A Chibi!" whispered a voice.  
  
"What?" Anya looked around. "Who said that?"  
  
Sano immediately picked up Kenshin with one arm and readied his other for punching in case he had to defend himself.  
  
Anya's eyes fell on a Heero Yuy a moment later, and her eyes widened. "I LOVE Heero!" she whispered cheerfully. She grabbed a Ball out of her pocket.   
  
The Heero's eyes were narrowed and focused on Chibi Kenshin for the moment. He was pulling his gun out, so she didn't have much time to capture him. Swiftly, she threw the ball at him.   
  
He seemed to realize his mistake. Heero lifted his gun as though to block the Ball, but it wasn't enough; a moment later, he was gone and the Ball was on the ground, shaking slightly.  
  
Anya watched for a few moments, unconsciously clenching and unclenching her hands. Sano was setting Chibi Kenshin back down onto the ground, shaking his head and muttering something about blind Heeros and what the world was coming to. Anya ignored him.   
  
Finally, the ball stopped shaking.  
  
The young woman wandered over and picked up the ball. She glanced around, then looked back down at it. "Wow, I got a third Bishonen!" she said.  
  
Her Dex, which was in her pocket, beeped at her. Sighing, she pulled it out.  
  
"Bishonen number three captured. Name, Heero Yuy. Stage, San. Nickname?"  
  
Anya thought about it for a moment. She grinned at the thought of calling him Hee-chan, but dismissed it. Trainer or no trainer, Heero probably wouldn't appreciate her acting like Duo or Relena. Besides, Hee-chan sounded kind of stupid. "No nickname," she told the Dex.  
  
Sano snorted. "What, am I the only Bishonen who has to put up with a nickname?"  
  
She turned to face him with wide eyes. "Why, of course Fluffy!"  
  
Chibi Kenshin, who had been listening the entire time, frowned. "Annie-dono, how is he fluffy?" he asked.  
  
"It's a joke, Kenshin," she explained to him. Then, "Well, I guess I better let him out. Come out, Heero."  
  
A moment later, Heero stood before Anya. He looked vaguely confused and was staring at his gun like he'd never seen it before.   
  
"Hi, Heero," she began politely. "I'm Anya."  
  
Heero looked up at her, and his vague expression disappeared. It was replaced by a look of anger. "You have a Chibi," he said.  
  
"You know, Missie, I think he's right," Sano said in mock surprise.  
  
"Shut up, Sano. Yes, I've got a Chibi. But he was captured completely by consent," Anya explained to Heero. He looked like he remembered how to use his gun again.  
  
"How can I tell you're not making that up?" he asked.  
  
Anya sighed. "You were trained to not believe anyone after all. Alright, let's see..." She glanced at Sano. "Would you believe Sano?"  
  
"He's your Bishonen. They've been known to lie for their trainers." Heero's voice was flat.  
  
"Watch it, pal, you're her Bishonen too," Sano said to him.  
  
Heero gave him a glare in reply.  
  
"What else, then...? How about Kenshin?" Anya asked.  
  
"My dad said he wanted me to be caught by Annie-dono 'cause he'd rather it be her than a trainer he didn't know," the Chibi cut in.  
  
Heero shook his head. "You could have scared him."  
  
"What WOULD you believe?" Anya asked him.  
  
The Bishonen brushed some of his longer bangs from his face. "Your electronic device. The Dex."  
  
"Dex?" she asked, surprised. "How can that tell anything?"  
  
Heero raised an eyebrow at her.  
  
"Alright, alright. Fine, jeez." She mumbled as she pulled her Dex out. "Now what?"  
  
Heero took it from her.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"What were the circumstances of the Bishonen Kenshin's capture?" Heero asked the Dex.  
  
The Dex didn't reply.  
  
Anya had to smirk. "It's voice activated," she told him. "Sano tried that earlier."  
  
Heero gave it back. "Then you ask it."  
  
"Alright, I will. What were the circumstances of the Bishonen Chibi Kenshin's capture?" Anya asked.   
  
The Dex beeped. "Capture by consent of parent, Himura Kenshin, stage Sama, date..."  
  
"OK, OK, that's wonderful. Thank you." Anya turned back towards Heero. "Now what? You think I got this rigged up to answer that all the time, too?"  
  
Heero gave her a very faint smile. "If you don't even know how to use it, how could you know how to make it answer certain questions?" he said. "I have no choice but to believe you."  
  
"Good. I like being believed. Anyway, this is Sano and Kenshin, as you've noticed. They're my only other Bishonen. We're headed to Eutriv City next to find a decent gym to train in."  
  
"Whatever."   
  
Anya smiled to herself. "OK, now that that's all taken care of, can we get going again?"  
  
Heero nodded. Anya noticed he looked like he wanted to ask her something, but wasn't sure of what her answer may be.   
  
/Maybe I'll address that later,/ she decided. /I just caught him. He may just want to know stuff like where I came from last and things like that. We can talk tonight. Rather, I can talk and he can glare at the lot of us./  
  
With that thought in mind, she continued down the road, now followed by three Bishonen as opposed to two.  
  
~*~  
  
"What did you think?"  
  
The redhead shook her head as she ascended the stairs to her room. "I don't like this associate of yours, Logan."  
  
"I didn't ask whether you liked her or not. I meant what you thought about her idea."  
  
"It's very interesting."  
  
"That's all? Interesting?"  
  
The redhead turned to glare down the stairs at the male trainer who was following her. "Yes. If you want me to be more interested, you should tell her to get rid of her sick fantasies and just research. I don't like people who enjoy pain."  
  
"She explained all that to you. It's essential for the research."  
  
"That's a load of bull, and you can tell her I said so. I am not going to partake in her torturing Bishonen. I can't see how that has anything to do with capturing Halflings."  
  
"She's not torturing them. She's getting them to cooperate."  
  
"Well. Maybe she should try having her own Bishonen mate with humans and then give up their children voluntarily so that people can catch them."  
  
"See, you just answered your own demand," the male insisted. "She can't very well force her own Bishonen to do that, it would be too cruel."  
  
The redhead shook her head. "Anything involving Bishonen research can be cruel, Logan. You heard what happened to tons of Bishonen before humans got the Balls right?"  
  
Slowly, the other figure nodded.  
  
She sighed. "I wonder when research officially goes too far," she murmured to herself.   
  
A door opened further up the stairs, and a Bishonen walked out to greet the trainers. It was a tall, thin one with wild blonde hair and odd, violet eyes. A golden pyramid with an eye on it hung around his neck.  
  
The Yami looked on his redhead trainer with concern. "Are you alright? You look horrible," he commented.  
  
"I'm fine, Yami," she assured him. "Where are the others?"  
  
"Around. Someone announced earlier he was going to try and cook, but..." Yami shrugged. "I already ordered some pizza."  
  
"If it's Vegeta, then I hope you ordered some for me, too."  
  
He nodded with a small smile.  
  
"You're a god, Yami."  
  
The male figure, who'd been tapping his foot, began to speak again. "Sometimes sacrifices have to be made," he insisted. "Besides, it's for the benefit of both societies if we invest in her and help her out."  
  
"..." The redhead turned to look down at him. "I will think on it, I'll give you that much. But I still don't like the way she's doing this. Would you like her to steal your Bishoujo for her experiments?"  
  
"...No," he admitted. "But that's also part of the contract. If we invest, she won't go near our Bishonen and Bishoujo."  
  
"What's this?" Yami asked with a frown.  
  
"Just another business thing, Yami," the redhead told him. "Don't worry." She glanced down the stairs. "I will think on it. That's all I can promise."   
  
With that, she walked up into her room with her Yami Bishonen, who was still asking her what was going on.  
  
The other trainer shook his head. "She's still too... humane, isn't that the term?" he asked himself. "But she's got to understand that these Halflings are no more than a nuisance. They're hardly human OR Bishie. Capture them, send them away..." He wandered off to his own room, muttering.  
  
~*~  
  
Heh. Well, those are two other people who asked to be in my story. You know who you are. ^_~ I hope you don't mind the way I portrayed you. And look! I gave you Yami so far! Well, and a Vegeta... ANYWAY... Please review, everyone, and until next time!  
  
Extra note- NO, the redhead in this chapter IS NOT Kara. Thank you. 


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten- Determined Training  
  
~*~  
  
Chibi Kenshin was feeling tired again. He'd managed to walk alongside his friend and trainer, Annie, and his friend Sano, and the quiet Heero for the past mile or so. However, the familiar feeling of sleepiness was returning with a vengeance.   
  
He shook his head to himself, staring at the ground in front of him. /No. I should keep walking. Annie-dono shouldn't have to carry me so often, that she should not. No one carries her./   
  
The Chibi glanced up at his trainer, who was at least a good two feet taller than him, if not taller; he was bad at measuring lengths. The point was that everyone else was so big compared to him.  
  
/I never thought about it before, but I'm the smallest one here, that I am,/ he reasoned. /I know that is to be expected, as I'm the only Chibi, that I am. However, I do not want to be a burden./  
  
His small hand strayed to the wooden sword that Annie had bought him a few days ago at the last town, and an idea began to form in his mind. Kenshin imagined himself as evolving, growing. Then he'd be the one protecting the others, not them protecting him from people who wanted to steal Chibis.   
  
/I'd be like my father, that I would,/ he decided. /I just need to train. I haven't had a chance to at all yet, that I have not. Perhaps tonight when we stop I can begin my training.../  
  
Chibi Kenshin suddenly stopped when he realized the others had already done so, and looked back questioningly at his trainer. "What is it, Annie-dono?" he asked.  
  
Annie smiled at him. "I'm feeling a little tired. My feet hurt. I say we stop now and head on tomorrow. We've been making incredible time so far, considering that I'm no athlete."  
  
Sano snorted. "Please, Missie. You gotta have some minor talent if you can punch like you do."  
  
"Is that an actual compliment, Sanosuke? I'm shocked."  
  
"It's a fact, not a compliment. Don't push your luck."  
  
Annie waved a hand in dismissal. "Right. Well, let's set up camp, shall we?"  
  
What good luck! Kenshin found himself ^_^ing broadly. This was the perfect opportunity; once camp was set up, he could train with his wooden sword for a while! Maybe if he tried hard enough, he could evolve before they reached the next town.  
  
Annie plopped down on a bedroll she pulled out from one of those magical-seeming capsules and sighed in relief. "I'll help in a second, guys. I just need to rest my poor feet."  
  
Sano shook his head. "Women," he muttered.  
  
Heero merely raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Hey, Heero, could you start a fire, please?" Annie asked.   
  
"Mission accepted." The odd Bishonen started to gather wood from some nearby trees to make a fire.   
  
/So serious all the time,/ Kenshin thought. /Should I be like that to evolve? I hope not. That'd be boring, that it would./  
  
True to her word, Annie stood after a moment, though she heaved a pathetic sigh at Sano before helping him set out more bedrolls around the fire. "It's a good thing I got ten bedroll capsules," she said to no one in particular.   
  
"I dunno, I think it was a mistake," Sano said. "I don't like him."  
  
"Why?" Annie asked.  
  
"Does it matter?"  
  
Annie rolled her eyes. "Sano, get over it. It's cause you think he's stuck up, don't you?"  
  
"I didn't say that..."  
  
"Well, if that's the case, he's been trained not to open up to anyone. He may in time, but for now he's just a distant lone wolf. He'll come to us when he wants to."  
  
At that point, Heero returned with a pile of wood. He set it out and almost instantly made a fire of it. "Mission accomplished," he said. Was it just Kenshin, or did he sound a little satisfied by it?  
  
"Thanks, Heero. Let's relax for a while."  
  
/Now's my chance, that it is./ "Annie-dono?"  
  
"It's Anya, Kenshin. What is it?" Annie glanced at him.   
  
"Can I train with my sword, that is?"  
  
Annie blinked. "Oh jeez, I completely forgot about that. I'm sorry, Kenshin. Course you can. You know how to train yourself?"  
  
Kenshin nodded. "I've watched my mother train others, that I have."  
  
"Good. There's a little clearing just beyond these trees, I think." Annie sat up to peer around a few nearby trees, and nodded. "Yep. Why don't you go and knock yourself out? I'm sorry I forgot about training you, Kenshin."  
  
The Chibi waved his arms around. "No need to apologize, Annie-dono. We have been intent on travelling, that we have. Thank you." Eagerly, he hurried into the next clearing.  
  
~*~  
  
"This is... harder than I... thought, that it is..." the Chibi panted fifteen minutes later.  
  
He'd ignored the idea of a warm up entirely and gone to sword swinging, figuring that it would make him stronger, faster. However, now he was very sore. Dropping his wooden sword, he rubbed one aching arm, then the other.   
  
"Does it always hurt like this?" he wondered.  
  
After a few minutes, he grimaced and picked up his sword again. Carefully, he swung it again. The ache grew. He winced.   
  
"I have more respect for sword training than I ever had before, that I do," he said to his surroundings. "But now what? I need to keep training or I'll still be a burden, that I will. But..." Then he hung his head. "I forgot to warm up, that I did. Perhaps I should do that now."  
  
~*~  
  
"He must be pretty intent on his training," Sano commented as he bit into a roll.  
  
"Why do you say that?" Anya asked.  
  
"He's been at it for a half hour. Duh, Missie."  
  
"Don't 'duh' me, Sano. Speaking of which, don't you want to train at all?"  
  
"The only thing I'd get accomplished out here is knock down a few innocent trees and kill off a few animals."  
  
"Well, can't you do push-ups or curl-ups or something like that? That'd help, wouldn't it?"  
  
Sano gave her a blank look. "The hell're those, Missie?"  
  
Anya raised an eyebrow. "You've never heard of push-ups."  
  
"No."  
  
Heero snorted.  
  
"What was that, kid?" Sano growled.  
  
Heero glanced at him before swallowing his own food. "What was what?"  
  
"Sano," Anya said warningly. "Heero, he's from the 1870's. Leave him alone."  
  
Heero shrugged. "I didn't do anything. I fully intend to leave him alone." He returned to his food.  
  
"You little," Sano began, then shook his head. "Kids," he muttered.   
  
"Anyway, Sano, push-ups are for your upper body. You basically go on your hands and the tips of your toes and lower yourself to the ground with your arms, then push back up." Anya shrugged. "They have us do that at school in our sad excuses for PE classes."  
  
They were silent for a while, then Sano stood up. "I'm gonna check on Kenshin," he said, and disappeared through the trees.  
  
~*~  
  
"What's up, Kenshin?"  
  
The Chibi stopped, panting again, and looked up to see Sano watching him. "Hello, Uncle San," he said. "I'm just training, that I am."  
  
"I can see that. What exactly are you doing?"  
  
"Just swinging it."  
  
"Have you tried to hit anything with it?"  
  
Chibi Kenshin blinked. "But if I do that it'll hurt the sword, Uncle San!"  
  
Sanosuke shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I used to knock trees over for training," he said.  
  
The Chibi's eyes widened. "Truly?"  
  
"Yeah. Not the best training though," Sano said quickly. "Here, let's do actual fighting training. You come at me and I'll try to block you. I won't attack, just block. Got it?"  
  
Kenshin nodded. His normally wide eyes were focused on Sano now, and his grip tightened on his small wooden sword. It was obvious he was already tired, but was still willing to try to attack Sano.  
  
Sano grinned and crouched slightly, feet apart. "Let's see what you got, kid."  
  
The Chibi lunged at Sano, trying for a direct thrust. Sano simply knocked it aside. With a start, he realized he'd been too hard with that simple swat; the sword had flown out of the Chibi's hands onto the ground a few feet away. Kenshin rubbed his wrists staring up at Sano with an incredulous look on his face.   
  
"Er, maybe we should tone it down a little for starters," Sano said, scratching the back of his head.  
  
Kenshin blinked at him, then ran over to pick up his sword.  
  
~*~  
  
Anya sat up as Sano came into camp an hour later with an exhausted Kenshin sleeping on his back. "Is he alright?" she asked.  
  
"Hmph. He's fine. Just worked a lot tonight." Sano shrugged the Chibi off his back onto Anya's bedroll. The Chibi, recognizing where he was somehow, immediately latched onto Anya's arm.  
  
Anya gave Sano a look. "Thanks," she said.  
  
"Don't mention it." He went over to rest against a nearby tree.  
  
"What about your sleeping mat?" she asked.  
  
"My what?"  
  
She pointed to the mat that was still unoccupied. "They're for sleeping on, you know. Genius."  
  
Sano shrugged. "Sure, why not." He walked over and lay down on it. "Happy?"  
  
"I'm with three of my favorite anime characters and you ask me that? Again I wonder about you, Sanosuke."  
  
"I was being sarcastic."  
  
Anya smiled. "I know. But I mean it. You guys were some of my favorites to watch back home. Of course, you'd end up doing dumb things once in a while, but that added to your personalities..." she trailed off. Then she shook her head. "Sorry. Does it bother you if I talk about you being in a show?"  
  
Sano sat up and turned his head in her direction. "Not really. It's just something a Bish gets used to after a while. Even our own folks mention it. It's the only explanation as to how more of our kind appear out of nowhere one day and claim a new territory; plus, once new people arrive, this place gets bigger."  
  
"Bigger?"  
  
"The planet- world, whatever- actually expands a few miles to take in the new Bishonen or Bishujo so we wouldn't be overpopulated."  
  
"Wow." Anya blinked. "So much for road maps."  
  
"Nah, maps are basically the same." Sano waved an arm.  
  
"And how do you know that? You don't exactly know how to read a map yourself, Mister I-Got-Lost-Trying-To-Get-To-Freaking-Kyoto."  
  
Sanosuke shot her a glare, then lay down again.   
  
Kenshin somehow wormed his way under her arm in his sleep and was now latched around her middle as opposed to her arm. Anya sighed, somewhat exasperated, but peered down at the Chibi with a small smile. Then she let her eyes close, and her mind drift to sleep...  
  
~*~  
  
The experimenter didn't like the new investor. This investor wasn't at all like her; this new one didn't particularly care for experiments on sentient beings. Neither did this investor really like her, for that matter. The young but rich redhead only stayed long enough each time to give her some more money before leaving quickly. The investor obviously didn't like the experimenter's ways of testing out her inventions.  
  
No, she definitely didn't like this new investor.  
  
But that didn't really matter. As long as she and Logan continued to give her money for research and experimenting, the experimenter couldn't really say she cared what anyone thought of her. Except for her Bishonen, perhaps, but they always supported her, even through times like these.  
  
Not that they knew what she was doing...  
  
She turned towards her laptop and frowned slightly, resting her fingertips lightly on the keyboard for a moment. The last experiment hadn't worked so well. Perhaps it was a matter of want? Hmm. The experimentor glanced up as one of her Bishonen walked in.  
  
Hiei leaned against the door. "Hey, you ever comin' out of this cave? I ain't got nothing against the place, mind you, but it's time to eat."  
  
She smiled slightly and closed her laptop. "Right, I'm coming." She stood and paused for a moment as she watched her Bishonen walked away.  
  
Then a thought struck her.  
  
Perhaps the experiments weren't going so well because there was no emotional connection between the species. Perhaps if she manipulated a few relationships, the experiments would get on better than they have before...  
  
Her smile grew, as she followed her Bishonen out of the room.  
  
Now it was just a matter of testing the theory. But first, she had to find a good specimen or two to test the theory on...  
  
~*~  
  
Gah, I'm sorry. I couldn't get this chapter written exactly the way I wanted to no matter how I tried. And it was abominably SHORT for me... (hangs head miserably) It'll be better and much more interesting by next chapter, I promise. Until then... 


	11. Chapter Eleven ChiChibiness! points and ...

Chapter Eleven- Chi-Chibiness! ^_^  
Notes- (stares adoringly at someone in the chapter, points and babbles incoherently, then returns to merely staring again)  
  
Readers- ...Do we want to know? (shrug and read anyway)  
  
Me- ^_^  
  
~*~  
  
"Finally," Anya breathed in relief, slumping down to the ground for a moment of rest. "Eutriv City..." She stared ahead at the gates to the city.  
  
"Well, what're you waiting for sitting down there?" Sano asked, peering at her. "You're not getting any closer to a hotel, you know."  
  
"Shut up. My feet hurt."  
  
"You don't hear Kenshin complaining-" Sano turned to point this out to Anya then stopped. He sweat-dropped when he saw Heero trotting up to him with a wry expression on his face, a sleeping Chibi Kenshin on his back.  
  
"You were saying?" Heero asked quietly.  
  
"Argh, never mind," Sano muttered.   
  
"Kenshin has the right idea," Anya said.  
  
"The answer is no," Sanosuke said.  
  
Anya pouted at him for a long moment before struggling to her feet again. However, Sano wasn't against helping her stay on her feet, so he let her lean on him for a moment before making her way towards the gates. Then he rolled his eyes and followed her, with Heero right behind.  
  
An officer stopped them at the gates. "What have we here?"  
  
"Trainer Anya and her Bishonen," Anya replied with a small smile.   
  
"I'll need to check your Dex for a confirmation, miss."  
  
Anya raised an eyebrow. "Okay..." She pulled out her Bishonen-dex and handed it to him. "Identify me," she said to it when it lit up.  
  
"Trainer- Novice Anya. Bishonen- three. Names are- Sanosuke, Kenshin and Heero, in named order. Chibi caught by consent of parents." The Dex beeped for another moment before turning off again.  
  
"Is that satisfactory?" Anya asked politely.  
  
"Yes, of course. Thank you, Miss Anya. Welcome to Eutriv City. Erm..." He eyed the group curiously. "Will you be looking for a hotel?"  
  
Anya gave him a blank look, and pointed to herself. "Yes, I at least can't wait to get all this road grime off."  
  
"There's one just a couple blocks from this entrance. Just turn right and keep going, you can't miss it."  
  
"Thank you very much." Anya turned to the others with a smile. "Shall we?"  
  
~*~  
  
"Aaaah..." Anya sighed and stretched her arms over her head. She'd changed into an orange tank top with black jean shorts. "It's so nice to be clean again!"  
  
"Actually, I gotta agree with you," Sanosuke said.   
  
Anya made a face at him. "Ew, though. You're still wearing those dirty clothes."  
  
"Would you prefer I went around in the nude? I've heard some trainers appreciate that."  
  
She turned beet red and threw a pillow at him. "Shut up! I didn't mean that- you need to get another outfit to change into or something until we can get that washed."  
  
"I'm not wearing your clothes, if that's what you mean."  
  
"What's wrong with her clothes, that is?" Kenshin asked innocently.  
  
Trainer and Bishonen alike sweat-dropped. Heero, who'd been setting up a laptop (which had appeared out of nowhere), turned around and raised an eyebrow at the Chibi.  
  
"Er... I'll explain some other time, 'kay?" Anya asked.  
  
"All right, Annie-dono!" Kenshin ^_^ed.  
  
"I hate this, but we'll have to go out clothes shopping," Anya said, making a face. "We'll get one extra outfit for each of you in case this happens again. Then we could wash the dirty ones without you having to, er, you know."  
  
Sano smirked at that. "Hear that, Heero? She doesn't appreciate us."  
  
"Indeed," Heero replied shortly. He was obviously ignoring them, only responding to his name.   
  
However, Anya didn't realize that and blushed again. "Will you shut up, Sano?! Let's just rest a while, then go get you your damned clothes."  
  
"Don't swear in front of Kenshin," Sano said, mimicking what she'd said to him a while ago.  
  
Anya gave him a glare, threw another pillow at him, and lay down on the bed. Kenshin immediately turned his attention to the television. He began poking random buttons under the screen, and clapped his hands in delight when he found the power button. "I got it, that I did!" he announced to no one in particular.  
  
"Swell," Sano muttered. He edged away from the television and closer to the door.  
  
His trainer gave him a small smirk at that before rolling over to face the far wall.   
  
Kenshin then walked over to where Heero was rapidly typing away on his laptop. "Whatcha doing?" he asked.  
  
"Typing."  
  
"What's typing, that is?"  
  
Heero paused in his typing to raise an eyebrow at the Chibi, who was still smiling innocently. After a moment, Kenshin's smile faded and he gave the older Bishonen a clueless expression. "You don't know what typing is?"  
  
Kenshin shook his head slowly.  
  
Heero knelt down to put a hand on Kenshin's head. Now Kenshin looked even more confused. Curious, Anya sat up and looked over to see why the room was so silent.  
  
"...You poor, depraved child."  
  
Anya and Sano fell over. Kenshin remained hopelessly clueless.  
  
However, despite his words, Heero returned to his typing without another word. Kenshin remained by his side, watching in amazement as pictures and words flew across the screen.  
  
"Hey, Heero," Anya said after a few moments.  
  
"What?"  
  
"..." Anya glanced away for a moment before returning her gaze to her newest Bishonen. "Where did you get that laptop?"  
  
"...I've had it."  
  
/Had it? Had it WHERE?! Never mind. I don't want to know./ "Right. Okay then." Anya lay back down, and closed her eyes, determined to rest for a while.  
  
~*~  
  
"Alright, let's get this over with," Sano said, glancing around at the people passing them on the streets.  
  
"I agree wholeheartedly," Anya said.  
  
"I thought girls like shopping?"  
  
"Sano, I'd like you to rephrase that. For one thing, you're being stereotypical. Some guys like to shop too."  
  
"...Fine then. I didn't know you didn't like shopping."  
  
"Well, we really haven't had the chance, have we? I mean, I've only battled a couple people in those woods back there, and we were in the middle of nowhere at the time." Anya shrugged. "In any case, I don't mind shopping. I just don't really care for the clothing shopping, that's all. Once in a while it can be fun, but that's when I'm with friends or something."  
  
"Hn," was Heero's contribution to the conversation.  
  
Kenshin, who was holding onto Anya's hand, peered through the crowds of people curiously. "This place is big, that it is!" he declared.  
  
"It is," Anya agreed. "Don't worry, I grabbed a map when we were at the hotel. We should find our way back no problem."  
  
"Whoa, you were smart for once?" Sano asked.  
  
Anya hit him over the head with her free hand.   
  
"Itai," he muttered.  
  
"NO, NO DA! I REFUSE NO DA!"  
  
"GET BACK HERE!"  
  
"LET ME GO NO DA!"  
  
"Eh?" Anya blinked. Then stars appeared in her eyes. "Did I just hear what I thought I heard?" she asked excitedly.  
  
"I don't know, what did you hear?" Sano asked.  
  
"I heard a 'no da'!" she exclaimed.  
  
"I SAID YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE ME TO YROTCIV CITY AND YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE ME THERE NOW!"  
  
"LEAVE ME ALONE NO DA!"  
  
Through the crowds came a tiny figure with light blue hair and a huge hat on his back. His bangs were sticking up above his forehead, defying gravity. His arms were out in front of him as he pushed his way around people.   
  
"A Chibi Chichiri?!" Anya said, looking amazed. "But-"  
  
The Chibi was apparently looking for somewhere to hide, because his eyes locked with Anya's a moment later as he neared her. He lifted his huge hat over his head, and soon only the hat was there, flying towards her. "What the-?!" She blinked as the hat seemed to magically tie itself around her neck and rest against her back. "What on earth...?"  
  
"HEY! THIEF!"   
  
Anya lifted her head to see a furious young woman with amazingly long dark hair and forest green eyes stalk towards her, a Bish-Ball in her hand. "Who you calling a thief?" she asked.  
  
"You, you idiot! How dare you try to steal my Chichiri?!" the girl snarled. "I caught him fair and square!"  
  
"Watch how you speak to my trainer, kid," Sano said, stepping in between the trainers. Silently, Heero moved up as well, reaching into his shorts to pull out the handle of a gun. Kenshin pulled out his wooden sword, though he seemed a little confused about why his trainer was now wearing a hat.  
  
"Get out of my way. This is thievery!" the girl announced.  
  
"That's better than abuse," Anya said quietly.  
  
"And what is THAT supposed to mean?"  
  
"You treating a Chibi that way. How could you? Weren't you brought here because you love Bishonen?" Anya said.  
  
The girl looked confused for a moment, then smirked. "You mean Chichiri? He's been refusing to do anything I say since I caught him. Of course I love him and all my Bishonen."  
  
"Sure doesn't sound that way," Anya said. "And doesn't it occur to you that maybe he CAN'T do what you want because he's so young?"  
  
"I'd hardly call him young."  
  
"Idiot! If you don't call THAT young, what DO you call young?"  
  
"Enough of this. Give me back my Bishonen or I'll be forced to send my Clef against you."  
  
The two trainers had now caused a big scene, and other trainers and Bishies were circling around them, watching curiously to see how things would end up.  
  
Sano snorted. "You're not very bright, are you? You can't send a Bishonen against a trainer directly."  
  
"It's against regulations in the contracts," Heero stated calmly. "To disobey would not be wise at this point, seeing how many witnesses there are."  
  
The new trainer looked like she was ready to attack Anya herself, but managed to restrain herself. "Very well. How about a battle, then? And when I win, I get my Bishonen back."  
  
"And should you lose...?" Anya questioned.  
  
"I doubt that'll happen."  
  
"Hey, you set stakes for one thing. It's only fair you do the same for the other trainer."  
  
"Is not. If I lose I'll call the cops on you."  
  
"That's not right," someone shouted from the crowd.   
  
The two trainers turned to see a Lina Bishoujo standing at the edge of the circle of people, folding her arms under her chest. "He was running away from you," she stated. "These circumstances would only be fair if you and your Chibi had a strong bond. Add stakes for this other trainer, or I'LL call the cops because you cheated on a match."   
  
Anya smiled gratefully at this unexpected backup, then turned to the other trainer, who was still fuming.   
  
"Alright, fine. Since he ran to you, you can have him if I lose. He'd probably make a fuss no matter what anyway- he always does when it concerns trainers." The girl flipped her hair over her shoulder and smirked. "Let's go."  
  
"Who should I have...?" Anya wondered. She glanced at her two Bishonen.  
  
"Let me," Heero said. "I haven't gotten a lot of experience since I evolved."  
  
Anya nodded. "Alright, be careful."  
  
Heero nodded back, and walked forwards. "I'm her Bishonen. I give full consent to fight until I am called back or are knocked out," he said.  
  
The girl snorted and tossed a Bish-ball onto the ground. "A fighter, eh? I'll go with Clef, then, of course!"  
  
With a flash of light, the magical Bishonen appeared. Heero blinked, and seemed to be holding back a laugh a moment later.  
  
"Kami, he's SHORT..." Sano said.  
  
"He's a powerful magician, Heero," Anya said quickly. "Be careful!"  
  
Heero nodded.  
  
Clef glanced around, then back at his trainer. "Mistress, we're battling?"  
  
"What's it look like?"  
  
The Bishonen sighed and ran a hand through his light hair. "Very well. I consent to fight- wait a moment, that's a fighter Bishonen-!"  
  
"Attack!" the girl said before he could finish.  
  
"But- urgh..." Clef slumped his shoulders in defeat, then pointed at Heero, who looked completely relaxed as he watched the magician. "LIGHTNING FLASH!" he shouted, and a beam of lightning shot from his staff.  
  
Heero's eyes widened and he leaped to one side, dodging the bolt. Sano shoved both Anya and Kenshin out of the way, making the two fall over. Then Heero's eyes narrowed again. "Mission accepted," he said shortly, and dove at Clef.  
  
"Again!" the girl shouted.  
  
"LIGHTNING- ugh!"  
  
Clef tightened his grip on his staff as Heero grabbed hold of it and tried to yank it away. A bolt of lightning shot out again, this time at the crowd. People dove for cover, shouting in alarm.  
  
"You're gonna hurt someone!" Anya shouted.  
  
"Itai," Chibi Kenshin murmured, rubbing his elbow.  
  
Anya helped him up, and watched worriedly as Clef and Heero struggled with the staff.   
  
"Let-go-" Heero said through gritted teeth.  
  
"No," Clef said calmly. "SHOCK!"  
  
A spark erupted from the end of the staff and hit Heero on the hands, making him yelp in pain, nearly letting go.  
  
"SHOCK!"  
  
Heero shuddered.  
  
"This isn't fair!" someone declared from the crowd.  
  
"Someone get the cops! That girl's a lunatic!"  
  
"How can her Bishonen cast offensive magic against a non-magic one?"  
  
"...She's gotta be using that runaway Chibi as her excuse. Defending it from a thief and all that."  
  
Heero finally let go and rolled out of the way as Clef attacked with another lightning attack.  
  
"Fire! Fire!" the other trainer shouted.  
  
"You'll catch the town on fire!" someone in the crowd argued.  
  
Clef sighed, and lifted his staff once more. "Flame-tongue!" he called.  
  
A short blast of fire shot from the staff. Heero ducked again.  
  
"WATER DRAGON!" someone in the crowd yelled. The crowd parted to see an Umi Bishoujo destroying the fireball with a water spell, and breathed in relief. She would make sure the spells wouldn't get too out of hand.  
  
"Grr..." the other trainer gritted her teeth. "More power, Clef! You're not putting your heart into it!"  
  
Her Bishonen shook his head slightly. "Rolling fire!" he cried.  
  
Now a wave of fire erupted, and the crowd had to back away to dodge the flames licking at their feet.  
  
Heero grunted in pain as a wave of fire hit his arm, biting back a curse. "I have to get that staff," he muttered.  
  
"WATER DRAGON!"  
  
The fire was doused again, and no one in the crowd was harmed.  
  
"You alright, Heero?" Anya asked worriedly.  
  
"This is bad," Sano stated. "She's using that Chibi as an excuse to use offensive magic against Heero. Otherwise it'd be blocked and Clef would be useless unless Heero gained magic."  
  
"What can Heero do to get the staff back?"  
  
"Be very, very quick, and twice as careful," Sano said. "That's the best he can do. He can't use his gun against another Bishonen unless it's the last of last resorts."  
  
Anya gritted her teeth as Heero barely managed to dodge another lightning bolt. "At least Clef isn't putting his heart into those attacks, or we'd all be dead by now," she said quietly. Then she yelped and clapped her hands over her mouth, staring at the fight.  
  
Heero'd been hit on the same arm with fire again, and clutched at it, giving a soft moan of pain. He sank to one knee, looking over his arm for an instant before returning his glare to Clef and his trainer.  
  
Clef gave him an almost apologetic look before raising his staff again. "SHOCK!"  
  
Lightning appeared, and hit Heero on the leg this time. He seemed to be unable to get up now.   
  
"Damn," Sano swore. "We're losing this one bad. I should have gone in there."  
  
"Unless you got magic I don't know about, you'd be just as badly off," Anya said. "Come on, Heero, just hang in there..."  
  
"Finish him off, with your strongest lightning!" the trainer commanded.  
  
Clef took in a deep breath, and nodded. He raised his staff again. "ROARING THUNDER-"  
  
"KAI- HAA!"  
  
Everyone blinked in astonishment as two small hands appeared from behind Anya's neck and pointed at the battle. The powerful lightning attack was blocked and destroyed by a magical shield that had appeared from nowhere. Heero looked at the shield around himself, dazed.  
  
"What the-?!" The trainer glared. "You're using my Chichiri against me!"  
  
"I didn't know that Chibis could magically attack," Anya said.  
  
"Some Bishonen and Bishoujo learn amazingly fast," Sano said. "Kenshin's dad, for example, learned one of his first techniques when he was still a Chibi. But I never expected-"  
  
"That's cheating! You're using my Bishonen against me!" the trainer announced.  
  
"She is not, no da!" came a high voice from the hat. "Leave me alone no da!"  
  
Anya blinked- it was very odd hearing a voice coming from a hat, though she knew it was the Chibi. "Why did you run from your trainer?" she asked the hat, feeling a little stupid because of it.  
  
"Because she threatened to seal me away in the ball should I refuse to take her wherever she wanted to go, no da," came a small voice from the hat.   
  
"And you don't like the ball?"  
  
"Who does?" Sano questioned. "It's a matter of tolerance. And Chibis should definitely not have to be forced into a ball unless it's for their own safety. Poor kid."  
  
"I'll fight you, no da!" came Chichiri's high voice. The hat twisted away from Anya's neck to deposit the Chibi on the ground behind her. He then ran around her and up to where Heero was.  
  
"No need," Heero said. "I can fight alone."  
  
"Not against magic, no da," the Chibi said worriedly.  
  
Heero smiled faintly down at the Chibi, and put a hand on his head. "You should really be concerned about yourself, young one."  
  
"But I'm-" the Chibi began.  
  
"Enough! Get out of there and be quiet, Chichiri!" the trainer's voice rang out. "Stop trying to play pitiful. You know what happens when you try to run from a trainer!"  
  
"Yes, no da," Chichiri said, and hung his head.   
  
A sudden memory struck Anya, and she paled. "If he'd succeeded, he'd go mad and die, right?" she asked Sano. He nodded. "Was your treatment that bad?" she asked, kneeling down to look at the Chibi.  
  
He turned and shrugged. "I figured it was worth a try, no da. I could find another trainer kind enough to capture and free me, so her power over me would be cancelled, no da," he said.  
  
"Smart kid," Sano said wonderingly.   
  
"Fine, if you want to get hurt, then it'll be a lesson for later on!" The trainer said this while shrugging. "Clef, attack!"  
  
"...No. I refuse to hurt my fellow Bishonen," Clef stated, turning to look at his trainer.  
  
"Oh, so YOU want the ball for a week. I understand," the trainer said in an icy voice.  
  
Clef paled, and turned back to the Chibi and Heero, indecisive.  
  
"NOW!" Heero whispered.  
  
"KAI-HAA!" The Chibi hollered, throwing up a shield around Heero as the older Bishonen somehow managed to run towards the unsuspecting Clef.  
  
A moment later, Heero knelt over Clef's limp body, the magician's staff in his hand. "I win," he stated.  
  
"WHAT?!" the trainer demanded.   
  
Heero gently laid the staff next to Clef before turning towards the Chibi and nodding once. The Chibi Chichiri nodded back just as solemnly before helping the older Bishonen to his good leg and helping him slowly back towards Anya.  
  
"We win," Anya said, putting a hand on Heero's shoulder. To her surprise, he didn't shrug it off, but instead just turned to look at the trainer as well. She smiled faintly at him before returning her glare towards the unknown trainer. "Why don't you break that Bish-ball and let him go now?"  
  
The trainer growled at them. Then she pulled out one of her Bish-balls. "Fine, be that way. He was a pill to deal with anyway," she said with a sniff, and threw the ball at the pavement. It shattered.  
  
The Chibi blinked, and looked around wonderingly. "I... I feel light as a feather, no da!" he whispered.  
  
The unknown trainer walked over to her Clef. "Up," she snapped.  
  
He groaned and shook his head. A moment later, he staggered to his feet.  
  
"Ball. Now."  
  
Clef winced, and turned towards Anya and her Bishonen with the Chibi Chichiri. Anya gave him a sympathetic look. He gave her a faint smile before nodding once and disappearing into his ball.  
  
Without another word, the trainer marched off into the crowds. The circle of people diminished almost immediately, as though nothing had happened.   
  
Anya blinked, and turned to look down at the Chibi Chichiri. "Are you alright?" she asked. He nodded.   
  
"A-are you going to capture me now, no da?" he asked. He looked a little uneasy about the idea.  
  
"Do you want to be caught?" she asked gently, kneeling down. "You've been through a lot lately."  
  
The Chibi raised an eyebrow. /Something odd about his face,/ she thought absently as he scratched his head.   
  
"You mean I get a choice, no da?"  
  
"I think Chibis should have a choice," she said. "At the very least."  
  
Now both eyebrows were raised, and the Chibi blushed slightly. "Ah, I agree no da," he said. "Erm, I'd prefer not to be caught at the moment, no da."  
  
"Alright." Anya nodded and stood back up. "Do you have anywhere to go?"  
  
The Chibi slowly shook his head. "No, I haven't even got an idea of where I am no da," he admitted.  
  
"Well..." Anya snapped her fingers and turned to the others. "That girl back at the last city with the Hotohori and Duo... she said Fushigi Yuugi Bishonen could be caught around here, right?"  
  
"Right, territories and all," Sano said with a shrug.  
  
Anya grinned and turned back to Chichiri. "How about we walk you home?"  
  
"We just got here," Sano began to complain. Anya nudged him with an elbow and shot him a glare. "Eh, never mind," he said, rubbing his ribs.   
  
"Walk me home, no da? So I am close to my old home no da?" The Chibi smiled. "I would be happy to go home no da. It's been a while."  
  
"Well, how about this. You can stay with us tonight, and tomorrow we'll hit the road and find the general territory of your lands. We'll drop you off to be found by your buddies and you can go home, okay?" Anya said, winking.  
  
"You'd really do that, no da?" Chibi Chichiri asked hopefully.  
  
"Yep. I think you need to go home after that- your folks must be worried- what's the matter?" Anya blinked as the Chibi looked away.  
  
"I'm an orphan no da," he said. "I was caught the day my parents died no da."  
  
"Oh. I'm sorry. But you still have friends, right? So you still want to go home?" she asked.  
  
He nodded. "Thank you, no da."  
  
"No problem. Alright, guys." Anya turned to grin at the others. "You okay there, Heero?"  
  
Heero smirked slightly. "I've only got a third degree burn on my arm and my leg probably won't work for an hour or so. Of course I'm fine."  
  
"Heero Yuy, I do believe that was a joke from you," she said with astonishment. Then she remembered something and turned to the Chibi. "Um, earlier you used magic to protect Heero. Can you heal him?"  
  
"Of course no da!" Chichiri said cheerfully, and walked over to Heero. He raised a hand to touch Heero's leg.  
  
Almost immediately, the burn was gone, and Heero lifted his leg up experimentally. He nodded again at the Chibi.  
  
"Perfect! Let's go get our shopping done and get something to eat, eh? We'll come back after we drop off our friend!" Anya said.  
  
~*~  
  
Chibi Kenshin sat on one of the beds in the guest room, fooling with the remote control to the television. Sano lay sprawled across the bed next to him, while Anya shared the bed he was on. Sano was snoring loudly- thankfully, Anya was fairly quiet.   
  
As for the other Chibi...  
  
Kenshin felt a new responsibility rest on his shoulders. Since he was the Chibi who'd been out of his ball a lot more than Chichiri, it was his job to point out the magical stuff that Anya took for granted. He'd already shown the wondering Chibi the bathroom, where they'd played with the shower and toilet for about a half hour before Anya stopped them. Now he was flipping through channels, pointing out the 'boring' stuff and the 'neat' stuff.  
  
Chichiri tilted his head to one side as he listened for a moment to a news report about the weather on television before reaching over and pressing the 'channel up' button, or so Kenshin called it. "Technology is amazing these days no da," he stated.  
  
The other Chibi nodded. "Have you had any of the sodas, that is?"  
  
Chibi Chichiri shook his head.   
  
"Maybe tomorrow at breakfast you can try it. Annie-dono's very laid back about food and stuff, that she is."  
  
"Is she?" Chibi Chichiri turned to look at Kenshin.  
  
"She is," Kenshin said with a ^_^. "She bought me my own sword so I could train, that she did." Then he made a face. "But she was worried I'd hurt myself so she only got me a wooden one..."  
  
"If she is worried, that is good no da," Chichiri said. He turned and yawned, stretching. "Ah, I'm so sleepy no da. I think I'll get some sleep now."  
  
"A good idea, that it is," Kenshin said. He turned off the television with one click of the remote- a fact that he was proud of- before turning and crawling over to where his trainer slept. He burrowed under the covers with her and attached himself to her arm. "Annie-dono doesn't mind, that she does not," he called quietly to Chichiri.  
  
A small blush stained the other Chibi's cheeks. "Truly, no da? I could sleep on the floor, no da..."  
  
"Oh, come on."  
  
The Chibi Chichiri finally sighed and crawled in after Kenshin. "Alright, no da..."  
  
~*~  
  
"You know, surprisingly, it's nice to be walking again," Anya said. "I thought my feet would be killing me today..." She stretched her arms over her head for a moment. "But it feels good to be out here..."  
  
"Wait a week," Sano instructed. "Then you'll be back to your old self."  
  
She raised an eyebrow at him. "At least I didn't smell as much as you did."  
  
"Psh. Yeah right. What's the saying? Right, women don't PERSPIRE, oh no, they GLOW," Sano said with a high voice. "Am I right?"  
  
Anya sidestepped away from him. "You're scaring me with that voice, Sano. Stop it."  
  
"Actually, you're scaring me too, that you are," Chibi Kenshin added.  
  
"..." Sano fell silent again.  
  
"So how far to we need to walk to get to the edges of your territory?" Anya asked the Chibi Chichiri. She pulled out her map and the group paused for a moment as she showed it to him. "This is where we are. Where does the FY stuff start? You don't have to be specific or anything- a general idea will do."  
  
"Hmm, no da." The Chibi frowned as he looked at the map.  
  
"Idiot, kids can't read maps," Sanosuke began.  
  
"About a three day walk no da!" Chichiri announced.  
  
Anya nodded and put away the map. "Alright, I got enough stuff for six days. We should be okay to get to your borders and back to town."  
  
"Mission accepted," Heero said.  
  
"Da?" Chichiri asked.  
  
"He likes to say that," Anya explained. Then she grinned at the group of Bishonen. "Well, shall we?"  
  
~*~  
  
Chichiri watched the trainer Anya as she bantered with Sanosuke and made light jokes at Heero for the rest of the day. Sometimes she gently teased either himself or Kenshin.   
  
/She's much nicer than my old trainer, no da,/ he thought. /She certainly treats her Chibi with respect. And she treats me nice too, no da. Home... I don't know anyway no da. Would anyone want me back there, no da?/ He stared up into the sky for a moment. /It feels like it's been so long since I left, no da.../  
  
"Hey, Chichiri, you gonna stand there all day?" Anya asked teasingly.  
  
The Chibi looked up and smiled faintly. "Course not, no da. Wouldn't get any closer to home, would I no da?"  
  
"You're right. Come on, we'll walk for an hour or so more and then rest for the night."  
  
~*~  
  
"Sanosuke, let me do that," Anya said in exasperation. "You're just gonna ruin the wood without getting any fire out of it."  
  
"Maybe I gotta rub the fire together first when it's wet..."  
  
"It's wet?! Where did you find that wood, Sano?"  
  
"Just beyond our camping ground, why?"  
  
"You can't use wet wood! No wonder you can't get it lit!" Anya said, shaking her head. She looked at the two Chibis and mouthed, "Can you believe this?" at them. Chibi Kenshin stifled a chuckle and Chibi Chichiri merely grinned back at her. "I think we need more wood."  
  
"Nah, just a little more..."  
  
"Sagara Sanosuke, you leave that wood alone and get some new branches. Preferably dry ones." Anya smiled. "Maybe you should go too, Heero, and point out the difference between dry and wet branches."  
  
"I can tell by myself," Sano retorted, and stood up to march off into the forest, mumbling.  
  
Anya shook her head, and turned to Heero. "Hey, would you go and get some too? Make sure he doesn't get lost either, K? He tends to have that happen a lot."  
  
"I've noticed," Heero murmured, and stood up. He walked off after Sanosuke.  
  
"What about us, Annie-dono?" Kenshin asked. "How can we help, that is?"  
  
"Hmm." Anya thought for a moment. "How about you two pick out a dinner for us, eh?" She pulled out a capsule- the refrigerator one- and tossed it at Kenshin. "Pick something good."  
  
"Alright!" Chibi Kenshin threw the capsule at the ground and with a POOF the refrigerator appeared. He immediately walked over and started searching through it.  
  
Chibi Chichiri, however, hesitated. He turned towards Anya and said, "Erm, can I talk to you no da?"  
  
"Of course, Chichiri." She frowned slightly when he scuffed his toe against the ground for a moment. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Well... I wanted to thank you again for helping me out with my old trainer no da..." He trailed off, and walked up so that he was right in front of her.  
  
Anya pulled him into her lap for a quick hug. "No problem. Glad we could all help. Besides, you gave Heero a little more experience in battling magic, should he ever have to fight it again," she said.  
  
The Chibi blushed. "But... You see... I haven't been completely honest with all of you, no da..." He looked up at her with his catlike eyes.  
  
"Honest? Honest about what?" she asked.   
  
"Well..."  
  
Anya blinked. Then she yelped.  
  
One moment, Chibi Chichiri sat in her lap almost like Kenshin would, though he looked a little unhappy about something. The next, he had changed into his normal adult size.  
  
Anya's eyes widened and she turned a beet red when she realized she was holding a full-grown Chichiri in her lap. "You- you're grown up!" she stammered. Then her blush grew. "Why didn't I see it?! I should have noticed your eyes were different!"  
  
Chichiri was blushing slightly too, scratching the back of his head. "Ano... sorry about that, Anya-dono no da. But I wanted to make sure I could trust you before I told you the truth. I figured you'd be more likely to help a Chibi than a full-grown me, no da... Da?!" He found himself being hugged again by the trainer.  
  
"I was wondering how you could do magic so young and why your face was like that and how you sounded so wise- I'm sorry." She abruptly let go of the startled Bishonen, still blushing. "I'm babbling, aren't I? I- it's just you're really one of my favorite characters, know what I mean?"  
  
The Bishonen reached up towards his face, and gently pulled off his mask. As Anya looked at his real face, entranced, he gave her a slow smile, something she'd never seen in the series. "You really mean that, no da?" he asked in a deeper voice than usual.  
  
"Yeah," she said.   
  
"...Thank you no da." The smile grew. "I was thinking, perhaps we could call this whole little journey off and head back to the city no da."  
  
"Back to the city...?" she wondered.  
  
"Yeah. I've been thinking about it since you offered to take me home no da. And I think... I'd like to try being someone's Bishonen again before making any more decisions about going home again no da."  
  
"Well... yeah! I'd love to have you as a Bishonen!" Again, she hugged him.  
  
"Da..."   
  
"^_^," was Anya's reply.  
  
"Hey, we got more wood! What was the deal sending Heero after- HEY!" Sano dropped the pile of wood in his arms and stared at his trainer and the Bishonen. "When did he evolve?!"  
  
"Just now, apparently," Heero observed wryly, placing his wood on the ground near the fire.  
  
"I picked some dinner for us, that I did- oh!" Kenshin stopped. "Did you evolve already, that you did?"  
  
"And what's with sitting on our trainer's lap, eh?" Sano asked, crossing his arms.   
  
"What happened to your eye?" Kenshin asked worriedly, hurrying over.  
  
Anya and Chichiri, both beet red, raised an eyebrow at each other. This was going to be an interesting conversation.  
  
But first...  
  
"Eh, Chichiri. Not that I'm complaining, but you're a little heavy."  
  
"Da! Sorry no da!"  
  
~*~  
  
Whew! All typed on the same day! It all came to me in a rush during math class. ^_^ This was so fun to write, though, I couldn't resist.  
  
(Squeals and glomps onto Chichiri) I GOT EIKODEN! I GOT EIKODEN! I LOVE THE REINCARNATIONS OF EVERYBODY! But... CHICHIRI'S STILL AWESOME!  
  
Anya- (glomps on too)  
  
Chichiri- DA!  
  
Sano- (looks pissed for no reason) ... (goes off to beat up some innocent trees)  
  
Anya- ...What's with him?  
  
Erm... right. Quick things for some new Bishies...  
  
Chichiri is a Bishonen from Fushigi Yuugi. He's got light blue hair and his bangs TOTALLY defy gravity. (pokes at said bangs and ^_^) He's really nice and sweet and is kind of backup for folk, you know what I mean? And he can go SD at will, and transform, and cast cool spells. As you probably guessed. ^_^ But can anyone say AWWW POOR CHICHIRI!? Such a SUCKY way to begin and end his love life... (cries and clings to him)  
  
Chichiri- (rapidly losing air) Ano... don't you need to continue telling people things, no da?!  
  
Me- (slightly releases hold on him) Oh, right.  
  
Lina Inverse is a kick-ass teenager from Slayers. She can be logical when she wants to, though she's a touch outta character here. She steals from the rich and gives to herself, as the advertisements say. She's a really strong sorceress.  
  
Umi is from Magic Knight Rayearth. She can cast water element spells (such as Water Dragon- big surprise, eh?) and is like a model.  
  
Clef is from the same anime and/or manga as Umi, the only difference being he can cast spells from any element. He gave Umi and the other Knights special elemental abilities at the beginning. He's short and has pink hair. (pokes at pink hair)  
  
Clef- Hey, watch the hair! And I am NOT short! (glares)  
  
^_^ Right, Clef.  
  
Anyway! New mangas I wish to add to my list of knowledge-  
  
Magic Knight Rayearth (big surprise, eh?)  
Cardcaptor Sakura (haven't seen it for SO long!)  
Wish (just got the first book! Can anyone say fuzzy?)  
Utena- (just got first book as well)  
  
I think that's all... My poor hands... Well, see you all later! And please review, okay? (waves) 


	12. Chapter Twelve! What's with Sano?

Chapter Twelve- Joining the Group  
Notes- What can I say? I'm now obsessed with Fushigi Yugi. Mostly due to Chichiri. ^_^ Just warning you all before I rant. In any case, glad you all still like my story.   
  
(Bows before people requesting to be in fic) I'm very glad you all want to be in my story. Please, be patient. I will be adding more of you into my story starting in the next couple of chapters, 'pon my honor. I just need to get info on some of your Bishies, plan out the next few events (add specifics and such) and voila, you'll be in, K? Until then, please enjoy the story. (Glomps onto Chichiri)  
  
Chichiri- Da....  
  
~*~  
  
"So lemme get this straight," Sano said. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned down to peer at Chichiri, who had finally gotten off of his new trainer and had scooted over to one side. "You were really at Sama stage since we met you. You can turn into a Chibi at will?"  
  
"No, no da. Like I said, I can turn SD na no da," Chichiri said.   
  
"What's the difference?" Sano muttered, frowning.  
  
"Like this," Anya said, raising a hand. "I finally realized what the difference between an SD and a Chibi Chichiri would be. A Chibi would have both eyes open. An SD looks like he has Chichiri's mask on, or like he has cat's eyes. Am I right?" she asked Chichiri.  
  
He nodded. "And a Chibi can't use any magic, nor does he say 'no da'... no da," he pointed out.   
  
"Oh yeah, that makes sense," Anya said.   
  
"So you basically lied to us," Sanosuke said.  
  
"Gomen, na no da. You have to realize I wasn't exactly meeting everyone under the best conditions no da."  
  
"You could have told us after the battle. You were perfectly capable of leaving on your own," Sano said. He sounded more than slightly angry. "But you played along as a Chibi. This whole trip was pointless."  
  
"Not really," Anya said. She grinned. "I have a new Bishonen now."  
  
"What?! The hell you decided you were gonna catch him?" Sano demanded, turning to look at his trainer.  
  
"The hell's it matter to you, Sano?" she asked, somewhat irritated. "It's my decision anyway. I decided when he turned full-grown and friggin' ASKED to join up."  
  
"Oh, right, it doesn't matter. How could it? I'm only one of your other Bishonen, that's all." Sano shot Anya a glare. "I don't like the idea of having along some smart-ass who thinks he can get away with playing a trick on us and we'll just let him!" The Bishonen turned away.  
  
"What is with you, Sano?" Anya asked. "You heard him. You'd have done the same..." Then she paused. "On second thought, no you wouldn't have. Never mind. But the fact is it was the best way for him to defend himself at the time. At that point, he didn't trust us, and who could blame him?"  
  
"Kenshin no da," came an exasperated voice. "I'm fine na no da. Will you stop that?"  
  
Anya and Sano turned to see that Kenshin was on Chichiri's lap now tracing the scar and poking it. Chichiri was trying to figure out how to make the Chibi stop without shoving him away.  
  
"But how did it happen, that is?" Kenshin demanded. "How did you get hurt so bad?"  
  
"Kenshin," Anya said. She reached over and pulled the Chibi from Chichiri's lap. Chichiri shot her a grateful look. "He'll tell you when he wants to tell you, okay? How about we get dinner started."  
  
"Okay!" Kenshin wandered over to where Sano had dropped his pile of wood. Then he began to carry the pieces of wood towards where his trainer and the other Bishonen were sitting. He proceeded to drop the wood in the middle of the group, and started to prepare to make a fire for the group.  
  
"I don't see why you're making a big deal out of this, Sano," Anya said. "You were fine with him when he was a Chibi."  
  
"Because I didn't know he could change into his full-grown self at will and- well, do whatever!" Sano said. "Damn it, don't you understand? Since he became a free Bishonen, who knows what he could have planned to do to you? Some Bishonen who have bad trainers don't always become all sweet and nice to everyone else! He could have thought that due to HIS bad experience ALL trainers were bad, and THEN where would you be?"  
  
"But he doesn't, and he didn't," she pointed out. "You're worrying about what already happened and what has NOT happened, Sano. Just cool it, okay?"  
  
Sanosuke shot her a glare before slumping to the ground and muttering.  
  
Anya turned to where Heero had been sitting for the past hour or so, quietly observing everyone else. To her surprise, he didn't have his laptop out, which he usually did even when he was in on the group's conversations. However, she decided to ignore that right then. "Well, do you have any opinions on this, Heero?" she asked.  
  
Heero raised an eyebrow at her. "It's the trainer's decision to take on other Bishonen," was all he said.  
  
"Thank you." Anya turned to Chichiri and gave him a small smile. "I think Sano stepped in something nasty out there, that's all," she whispered to him. "You're stuck with me, I'm afraid."  
  
"Anything but that, no da," Chichiri said with a ^_^.   
  
"You're sure you want to be captured again so soon?" Anya asked, giving him a curious look. "I mean..."  
  
"I know what you mean, no da. And yes, I'm certain no da. I'd rather be caught by a trainer I am at least somewhat certain I can trust, as opposed to a complete stranger no da."   
  
"If you're sure..." Anya smiled. "Well, let's get that taken care of, shall we?" Anya pulled out one of her empty Bish-balls. "I'll let you back out as soon as you're captured, promise."  
  
Chichiri gave the Bish-ball an uncertain look, then nodded. "Let's just get that part over with quickly no da. I don't have very many fond memories of Bish-balls right now no da."  
  
Anya nodded back at him and tapped the Bish-ball on his arm. He was immediately sucked into it. The Bish-ball didn't so much as twitch when he disappeared. Anya watched the ball for a moment, then held it out in front of herself. "Come on out, 'Chiri!" she said with a smile.  
  
Chichiri popped back out in SD mode. "DA!" When he heard his new trainer laugh at his appearance, he turned back to normal and gave a little bow. "I guess I am stuck with you now, no da," he said.  
  
"Yep, too late to back out now," Anya joked.  
  
"I got the fire going, Annie-dono!" Kenshin shouted. "That I did, that I did!"   
  
Anya turned to see the Chibi excitedly trying to make the little fire he'd started grow into a full-sized campfire. He began to add leaves and grass to the wood.   
  
The Bishonen trainer sweat-dropped. "Kenshin, I don't think you should try to feed the fire so quickly..."  
  
A moment later, she was proven right. Kenshin sat in front of a pile of wood, leaves and damp grass, as opposed to a fire. The Chibi looked at the formerly- burning wood for a moment before turning to his trainer in confusion.  
  
She, in turn, glanced at Chichiri. "Would you mind?" she asked, gesturing to the pile of wood.  
  
Chichiri nodded once. Then he stood, walked over to where the Chibi was, and knelt before the wood. He chanted something and held a hand over the wood. Only a minute or so later, a fire was crackling merrily.  
  
Kenshin clapped his hands in delight. "That's amazing, that it is!" he exclaimed.   
  
Chichiri reached down to ruffle the Chibi's mane of hair. "I'm glad you think so no da," he said.  
  
Anya glanced around the campground, and spotted the refrigerator capsule that she'd given to Kenshin. Smiling, she got up to walk over and pick it up. Then she opened it. "Hey, Kenshin, did you decide on anything for dinner?"  
  
"Yes!" Kenshin ran over and took the capsule from her, opening it with a loud POOF! He then began to pull out foodstuffs from the shelves.   
  
"Well, if we're going to eat all of that..." Anya scratched the back of her head. "Let's start cooking it up, eh?"  
  
~*~  
  
"Sano? Where you off to?" Anya asked.  
  
Sanosuke froze, but didn't turn around. "What do you care?"  
  
She sat up in her sleeping bag, careful not to wake up Chibi Kenshin. "You're one of my Bishonen. Duh, I care. Where you going?"  
  
"Off."  
  
"I guessed that, you moron. I'm asking where and why."  
  
"Oh, so you'd trust Chichiri at the drop of a hat but you won't let me go off by myself for a moment!" Sano turned around to shoot her a glare. "I understand why you sent Heero after me now."  
  
"Sano, what the hell are you getting so uptight about?" Then Anya considered him for a moment. "Is it about that time when I first caught you?"  
  
"What does that have to do with anything?" he asked.  
  
"Well... remember back then? You wanted to be let go as soon as I caught another Bishonen that I wanted. I've already gotten two other full-grown Bishonen and Chibi Kenshin now, as you know. Is that what you're upset about? Do you want to be let go now?"  
  
Sanosuke snorted and ran a hand through his hair. "Are you kidding? You free me, and you'll have to free the kid or I'll follow you anyway. No, it ain't about that."  
  
"So you want to stay on with me?" Anya smiled faintly.  
  
"Eh." Sano gave a nonchalant shrug. "More interesting than watching the dojo while Kaoru and Kenshin wander off to do 'chores' and come back hours later not-"  
  
Anya put her hands over her ears. "Okay, that was TOO MUCH information there, Sano."  
  
Sano finally smirked. "What, you above hearing those kinda things?"  
  
"My poor, virgin ears..." she moaned softly.  
  
"You know you could change that- ITAI!" A shoe hit him squarely in the head.  
  
Sano fell over as Anya grabbed her second shoe and stood up, readying to throw it at him.   
  
"Hentai!" she accused.  
  
"Whatever," he muttered.  
  
Kenshin, who was still sound asleep, sighed and snuggled closer to her foot. Both trainer and Bishonen sweat-dropped at this.  
  
Then Anya dropped the shoe and sighed. After a moment of watching her first Bishonen, she gently shook her foot free of the Chibi and walked over. "So what are you so mad about, huh?"  
  
"I just don't like the idea of you having a Bishonen that deceived all of us," Sano said. He shrugged. "Is that so hard to understand? I didn't realize that any Bishonen could do that sort of thing."  
  
"Then I take it you never really ran across a Chichiri before," Anya guessed.  
  
"..."  
  
"Look, Chichiri can't be whatever's been bugging you and making you talk privately to every Bishonen we come across," Anya said. "I mean, LOOK at the guy for crying out loud!" She pointed to where the Bishonen was sleeping. "Do bad guys tend to snore like a cat?"  
  
"..." Sano turned to look at Chichiri, then raised an eyebrow in Anya's direction. "You've got very, very odd ways of telling the differences between good and bad guys," he observed.  
  
"Works for me. You just don't know the guy. Trust me, he-"  
  
"Some of us aren't exactly the way you see us on the show," Sano interrupted. "You're assuming too much."  
  
"I've seen an example of that already," she said dryly. "I have yet to see Heero Yuy OR Duo Maxwell wandering around in a hippie outfit on the silver screen or on the manga."  
  
Sano sweat-dropped and turned to look at her. "Say what?"  
  
Anya waved a hand, grinning. "Never mind. Just give 'im a chance, eh?"  
  
"Hmph." Sano turned away yet again. "I'll think about it. I'll respect the guy but I'm not putting up with any more bullsh-"  
  
"Sano, watch what you say, will you?" she asked. "You might wake up everyone else."  
  
"If we haven't already," Sano muttered. Then he shrugged. "Fine. Your call, Missie. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to take a leak." He wandered off into the woods.  
  
Anya watched him leave the camp area, one eyebrow raised. "Well, that was the weirdest conversation I've ever had with anyone," she said to herself. The teen turned around and headed back to her bedroll, sitting back down. Kenshin latched onto her leg almost immediately. She looked down at him with a small smile on her face, then ran a hand through his thick mane of hair. "You know, you won't be able to sleep with me when you evolve," she murmured to him.  
  
Kenshin gave a little sigh in his sleep.   
  
Her smile broadened at that. Then she glanced around the rest of her travelling group. /My group of Bishonen. Gods, what would my mother say if she saw me now? Or my father, for that matter? If only they knew I was surrounded by kawaii guys constantly.../   
  
Finally, she lay down and looked up at the sky. At least, she tried to; it was a little hard, seeing as they were in the thicker parts of the woods. However, she managed to spot a few stars through the branches above. Anya shifted a little, then closed her eyes.  
  
After a few moments, Sano came back to camp, and turned to where his trainer was lying. An unreadable expression passed over his face. Then he wandered over to his bedroll, which was only a few feet from hers, and lay down as well. He craned his neck to watch her for a while then sighed and shook his head. "The hell'm I doing?" he murmured. "Her friggin call..."  
  
~*~  
  
"DAA!"   
  
Anya jumped, and looked around to see who was making that odd noise. Her eyes fell on Chichiri, who had just jumped off of his bedroll and was proceeding to do some quick stretches. She sweat-dropped. "Morning, 'Chiri," she murmured.  
  
"Morning na no da! What's for breakfast no da?"  
  
The trainer gave him a confused look, then glanced at her watch. "Chichiri, it's eight in the morning. We usually don't get up and eat 'till like nine."  
  
"Oh..." Chichiri plopped back down on his bedroll and shrugged. "I can wait, no da. I just thought you'd want to get going na no da. Where are we headed?"  
  
"Back to Eutriv city, the one we found you in," Anya replied. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stretched her arms over her head. "There's a gym there, and supposedly there's a trainer there that should offer a good challenge to anyone who wants to try their luck against them. I want to see if he or she is still there."  
  
"Hmm." Chichiri's face lit up. "I know no da! We can get there in no time na no da!"  
  
"Eh?"  
  
Chichiri held up his hat. "Have you forgotten so soon no da?" he questioned.  
  
"Oh, right." Anya smiled sheepishly. "It's too early to think, Chichiri. I'm going back to sleep now." She lay back down on her mat.  
  
"Uh-uh, no da!" Chichiri poked her with his staff. "You're awake, and you should stay awake na no da."  
  
"Cut that out," she complained, and caught hold of the staff.   
  
Trainer and Bishonen stared at each other for a moment. Then they proceeded to play tug-o-war with the staff.  
  
"Let go... no da," Chichiri said.  
  
"No way..." she replied.  
  
Kenshin then decided to wake up. "What's going on, that is?" he asked sleepily. He rubbed his eyes. Then he gave his trainer a curious look. "What are you doing with Chichiri's staff, that is?" he asked.  
  
Anya turned to give him a small smile. "Morning, Kenshin," she said. "Um, actually I'm making sure Chichiri doesn't poke me with his staff anymore."  
  
"Stay awake, lazy trainer, and I'll leave you alone no da! Give me back my staff no da!" Chichiri said, exasperated.  
  
"Okay!" Anya let go suddenly, resulting in Chichiri nearly hitting himself on the head with his own staff and falling backwards. "Whoa! You all right?" she asked, peering at him.  
  
"I'm alright no da..." Chichiri still sounded a little exasperated at his trainer.   
  
Anya turned at the sound of someone moving and saw that Heero was watching them all. "Morning, Heero," she said.  
  
He nodded at her.   
  
"And that leaves..." She turned to look at Sano, who was still snoring. "Eh..." She sweat-dropped. "He might be a while... is everyone hungry?"  
  
Both Chichiri and Chibi Kenshin punched fists into the air and ^_^ed. "YES!" they both declared. "No da!" Chichiri added as an afterthought.  
  
Anya scratched her head. "Okay... what about you, Heero?"  
  
"Sure." Heero shrugged.  
  
"Alright. I guess we can get breakfast going then... Sano can join us later..." Anya reached for her backpack and pulled out the refrigerator capsule. "Who's up for waffles?"  
  
"What are those, no da?" Chichiri asked. A question mark seemed to appear over his head.  
  
"Breakfast food," Anya replied, and opened the capsule with a POOF! "And let's have some bacon too... Chichiri, can you get a fire going again? Heero, could you cook the stuff please? Kenshin, let's get the bedrolls set up."  
  
"'Kay!"  
  
Soon after this, the scent of steaming bacon filled the air. Anya felt her stomach growling and smiled a little at that. "Guess I'm a little hungry too," she said to herself.  
  
Sanosuke's stomach, however, was quite loud even when he was still asleep. It began to protest about its owner still sleeping right before everyone else started to eat. The Bishonen soon decided to listen to his stomach and woke up. "Eh..." He spotted the others preparing to eat. "Hey! When did... damn. What time is it?"  
  
"It's eight-thirty in the morning," Anya said. "Rise and shine, lazy one."  
  
"Eight-thirty! I thought it was TEN since you're eating! Thanks for not waking me up!" Sano ran a hand through his hair before walking over.   
  
"We thought you'd prefer to sleep for a while, no da," Chichiri said with a ^_^.   
  
"That so..." Sano watched the newest addition to the group for a moment before seating himself beside Anya, who was busy devouring her own breakfast. "Got anything left?"  
  
"A few crumbs, here and there," Anya joked.  
  
Sano grabbed one of her waffles. "Thanks for holding this."   
  
"HEY! That's mine, you thief!" she protested. Anya hit him on the head and reached to take her waffle back.  
  
Sanosuke smirked and took a big bite out of it. Anya glared at him. "Still want it back?" he asked innocently.  
  
Kenshin, who'd been watching the whole thing, looked down at his own plate. Then he very solemnly held it out to Anya. "You can take my waffle, Annie-dono, that you can," he said.  
  
Anya had to smile at his earnest expression and ruffled his hair. "Nah, keep it. We'll just have to remember that Sano doesn't get any lunch today."  
  
"What?! Now that's not fair!" Sano complained.  
  
"Too bad," Anya said. She returned to eating the last of her food. Grumbling, Sano did the same.  
  
When the group finished breakfast, Anya leaned back, stretching again. "Ah. I love hot food first thing in the morning," she said.   
  
"Hn," was Heero's opinion.  
  
"Well, where're we going now?" Sano asked.  
  
"Back to that city, of course," Anya said. "I haven't had the chance to fight another trainer in a while. I think it would be to everyone's benefit if we went back and checked out the gym."  
  
"So we got another whole day's walk ahead of us," Heero said.  
  
"Not exactly, na no da!" Chichiri said. He ^_^ed sheepishly when the other Bishonen turned to give him quizzical looks. "You see, I figured we could just fly there and be in town in a few minutes instead no da!"  
  
"Fly?" Sano snorted. "And how, exactly, were you planning on having us do that?"  
  
"Like this na no da!" Chichiri put his hat on his head and promptly disappeared into it. The hat hovered in the air for a moment. Then it started to fly swiftly around everyone, though it seemed like it was only being blown around by the breeze.  
  
Sanosuke paled. "You're kidding me!"  
  
Chichiri appeared out of the hat again and held it out for the others to see. "We all just hop inside and I'll get us there no da!"  
  
Heero gave the hat a skeptical look.  
  
"So where exactly will we BE when we're in the hat?" Anya asked curiously.  
  
"Ano..." Chichiri shrugged. "Inside the hat no da?"  
  
Anya fell over.  
  
"But we'll only be in there for a short while, that we will," Kenshin observed. The Chibi wandered over to where Chichiri was and peered up at the hat.  
  
Chichiri held the hat out at the Chibi's level. "Hop right through no da," he said.  
  
Chibi Kenshin looked at the hat for a moment, then nodded and jumped right at the hat.  
  
A moment later, he was gone.  
  
"Kenshin? Kenshin?!" Sano got up and rushed over to where Chichiri stood. "The hell did he go? Where is he?" The Bishonen looked ready to pound Chichiri into the ground.  
  
"Don't worry, he's in the hat no da," Chichiri said hastily. He held the hat out for Sanosuke to see. "You can go in next no da."  
  
"What? I'm not going- GAH!"  
  
Anya grinned as she shoved Sano into the hat headfirst. Then she rubbed her hands together in satisfaction. "There. He'll thank me later, when he's drunk or something."   
  
"Well? Your turn, no da," Chichiri said, holding the hat out to her now.  
  
The trainer took a step forward, then hesitated.  
  
"What is it no da?" Chichiri asked.  
  
"Well... can your hat take humans too?" she asked.  
  
"Ano..." Chichiri made a face, as though he wanted to say something but wasn't sure if he should. Then his expression cleared. "To be honest, a Miaka is a halfling no da," Chichiri said. "One of her parents has to be a full-blood human, and he or she can use these without any problems no da. So I don't think it'll be a problem for you na no da."  
  
"Whoa, Miaka's are halflings?" Anya considered that. Then she snapped her fingers. "Of course, that would make sense. She can go into both worlds in the anime, so of course she 'belongs' to both humans and Bishonen!"   
  
"Da?" Chichiri scratched his head.  
  
"Never mind. In I go!" Anya dove into the hat.  
  
Chichiri turned to Heero. "Well, you coming or not no da?"  
  
"Aren't you going in?" Heero questioned.  
  
"Of course, but I have to go in last no da. If I went in now you wouldn't be able to na no da."  
  
After a long moment, Heero nodded, and he too went into the hat. Chichiri placed the hat on his head, jumped up into it, and disappeared along with the rest of the group. The hat seemed to hover in the air for a moment. Then it began to float away, towards the city...  
  
~*~  
  
Yay, chapter twelve done! ^_^ I hope you enjoyed! So what do you think is up with Sano? And what'll happen when they get back from the middle of nowhere?   
  
Anya- Doesn't that depend on how good Chichiri's landing is? (Wry look at her Bishonen)  
  
Chichiri- (sweat-drop) Da, I'm quite good at landing where I want to no da! (Looks indignant as he slams his staff on the ground a few times to prove his point)  
  
Anya and me- Uh-huh.  
  
Sano- (in the distance still killing a bunch of innocent trees looking pissed off)  
  
Everyone- ...  
  
Chichiri- Just a question, why doesn't Heero ever get to talk in these things no da?  
  
Okay, fine. Heero, why don't you talk for a while?  
  
Heero-...  
  
There, he talked.  
  
Chichiri- He did NOT no da. He hasn't said a word so far!  
  
He's being very talkative for a Heero Yuy. Take it or leave it. (Glomp)  
  
Chichiri- DAA! (Turns SD and hides in his hat)  
  
Anya and me- Darn...  
  
Anyway, quick info on Miaka. For those of you who don't know... She's a teenager who constantly eats, is in love with Tamahome/Taka, and is the Suzaku no Miko in Fushigi Yuugi. Rather, she's a priestess for the god Suzaku, who's basically a phoenix. And for some reason just about every one of her protectors in her show fall in love with her, or at least a lot of them do. Who knows why? No, I don't really like her. How'd you guess? (No offense to anyone who does like her.)  
  
That's all for now, everyone. Please review and I hope you'll come back for the next chapter! (Waves) 


	13. Chapter Thirteen!

Chapter Thirteen- Where on Earth...?  
  
~*~  
  
Chichiri popped out of his hat and held it out in front of himself. Then the Bishonen proceeded to shake the hat up and down. "We're here, no da! Time to come on out, no da!" he said cheerfully.  
  
Thud!  
  
Heero landed on the ground on his head. A moment later a small bump appeared where he'd landed, and he rubbed it ruefully. Then the Bishonen moved out of the way and started to look around at his new surroundings.   
  
Thud!  
  
"ITAI!"  
  
Anya landed next, though she landed on her rump instead of her head. "Jeez, 'Chiri, be more careful will ya?" she muttered. "I rather like being able to sit when I get the chance- eh?" She stood up and peered around herself as Chichiri ignored her and continued to shake Sano and Kenshin out of his hat as well.  
  
Thud! Thud!  
  
"Wow! We'll do that again soon, that we will. Right?" Kenshin asked hopefully. He was the only one who'd landed on his feet (save Chichiri) and was bouncing up and down in excitement, oblivious to what was going on around him.  
  
Sanosuke, however, had also landed on his head, a lot more forcefully than Heero had. He lay there for a moment, twitching, as a huge bump appeared on his head. Then he managed to get up into a sitting position and glance around as well.  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
"Chichiri?"  
  
The Bishonen turned to look at his trainer. "Yes, Anya-dono no da?"  
  
"Can you explain something to me?"  
  
"Of course, no da."  
  
"Then please, explain...." Anya then stomped her foot. "WHY ARE WE IN THE MIDDLE OF ANOTHER FOREST?!"  
  
"DA?!" Chichiri turned SD and hid behind his hat. "I tried to take a shortcut but I wasn't exactly sure which way to go no da?" he asked timidly.  
  
"Was that an explanation or a question?" she asked.  
  
"I'm not sure no da!"   
  
Heero sighed and pulled out his laptop. This was probably going to take a while.  
  
Kenshin, sensing the same thing, spotted Heero and wandered over to admire the screen and Heero's typing skills. After all, he found it a lot more interesting and a lot less confusing than hearing the others yelling at each other.  
  
Anya hung her head and sighed. "Chichiri, when did you evolve into a full-grown Bishonen?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Ano... only a while ago, no da. Why no da?" Chichiri peeked over the rim of his hat.  
  
"Because that would explain why your landing was off. Well, let's hope we landed somewhere near town. Let's see..." Anya sat down and pulled off her backpack. Then she pulled out the map. Chichiri wandered over and sat next to her, still holding up the hat so he could use it as a shield. "Are there any forests really close to Eutriv City...?" Anya wondered aloud as she tried to find said city.  
  
"I didn't see any, that I did not," Kenshin volunteered.   
  
"Great," Anya muttered. Then, "Ah! Here we go!" She pointed at the map. "There's Eutriv City. Here's the path we took to take you back to your territories, Chichiri..." She ran a finger along one of the dark lines on the map. "And since we only got about a third of the way there... we WERE about here." She tapped her finger on one part of the map, where a small cluster of trees was drawn. "How long were we flying around in your hat, 'Chiri?"  
  
"About a half-hour no da," Chichiri said. He finally changed back into normal and was peering at the map curiously.  
  
"How far can you travel in your hat in a half-hour, Chichiri?"  
  
"I'm not sure. Depends on the wind patterns no da... but today, I'd guess we traveled at least ten miles no da."  
  
"Ten miles..." Anya frowned slightly. "And we traveled... hey, Sano!" She threw a nearby rock at Sano, who had been sitting where he'd fallen for the past few minutes. "You still with us?"  
  
The rock hit him in the face, adding to the size of the bump on his head, and he yelped in pain. "Damn it, Missie, what was that for?!"  
  
"I asked you a question, and you looked like you were either on crack or just staring into space. I figured a rock would snap you out of either one."  
  
"The hell ARE we?"  
  
"That's what we're trying to figure out," Anya said. "If you don't mind... how far would you say we walked yesterday?"  
  
"I'm supposed to know that?! Well..." Sano frowned slightly. "I would guess at least seven or eight miles."  
  
"Hmm. hey, wait! There's a forest a few miles north of Eutriv! Maybe you just overshot your landing point a bit, 'Chiri!" Anya said cheerfully, pointing at the map. "If we find the road and head south on it, maybe we'll run into Eutriv City!"  
  
"And if not," Heero observed from his computer, "we can just follow the road anyway. Roads are bound to lead you to one city or another."  
  
"True," Anya agreed. Then she peered over at his computer. "Say, you wouldn't happen to have a tracking device or something on there, would you?"  
  
"..."  
  
"Never mind. I kinda doubted you'd share." Anya sighed and stretched a little. "Okay. Let's start looking for some sign of civilization- a road, a house, whatever. Then we can get our bearings. No offense, Chichiri, but maybe we shouldn't use your hat for a while."  
  
Chichiri gave a sheepish smile. "Gomen, no da," he said.  
  
"Don't worry about it. I'm not that surprised, actually...."  
  
Sano snorted. "Go figure we'd get lost. Maybe next time you should try following the road, Chichiri."  
  
The monk gave a little shrug.  
  
"Sano, be nice," Anya told him. "I'd like to see you try and control a flying hat."  
  
"I don't deal in witchcraft," Sano sniffed.  
  
"Funny, I thought I saw you going into that hat rather quickly this morning," Anya observed.  
  
"That was because YOU shoved me IN there."  
  
"Uh-huh, right. Don't let your imagination get too overworked, Sanosuke," she said innocently. Then she stood and looked around. "Let's see... um..." she sweat-dropped. "Anyone wanna guess which way we should go to find the road?"  
  
The group looked around for a moment.   
  
"Let's see," Sano said. He pulled out his simple compass and held it out in front of him, watching it carefully.   
  
Anya rolled her eyes.  
  
After a few quiet moments, Sano jumped to his feet. "HA! South is THAT way!" he announced, pointing to their right.  
  
Anya looked at the rest of her Bishonen. They all nodded, stood, and started off in the opposite direction.  
  
"What the- HEY! What's the big idea?!" Sanosuke demanded, hurrying after them.  
  
~*~  
  
"Okay, I give up," Anya said, dropping her backpack and sliding down a tree into a sitting position. "Chichiri, where did you take us?"  
  
"I could have sworn I knew where I was going no da," he said. He shrugged helplessly.   
  
"Looks like we're in for a long trip after all," Anya said to herself.   
  
"Told ya, you should have gone in the direction I said we should go," Sano said smugly.  
  
"Shut up," the rest of the group told him.  
  
Anya pulled out the refrigerator capsule and opened it. Then she got a soda, took a big gulp, and sighed. "That's better," she said.  
  
Kenshin wandered over, got three, and headed back to where he, Heero and Chichiri were sitting around Heero's laptop. He handed the other two sodas to the older Bishonen and sat down to Heero's right, watching the Bishonen type on the computer. Chichiri took his soda absently, also staring at the screen. Heero, meanwhile, was doing his best to ignore the two that were watching him, continuing to type who-knew-what into the laptop.  
  
"Okay..." Anya said finally into the silence. Her Bishonen turned to look at her. "Okay," she repeated. "This is what we're gonna do. Chichiri? I need you to use your magic."  
  
"What for no da?" he asked.  
  
"You should go up and take a look around above the treetops. You ought to be able to see a road or something if you go high enough. You come back down and tell us which direction it's in, and we head in that direction. When we get to it, we'll decide which way to go and continue on from there."  
  
"Makes sense no da."  
  
"You can fly on your own too, that you can?" Kenshin asked, excited. "Can I come up with you, Chichiri, that is?"  
  
Chichiri gave Anya a questioning look. Anya shrugged and smiled. "Fine with me."  
  
The Bishonen smiled and scooped up Chibi Kenshin in his arms before muttering an incantation. A moment later he was slowly floating up into the sky.  
  
"Show off," Sano muttered. "I could have climbed up a nearby tree and it would take only a minute. He's taking five to get up there."  
  
"He'd be a lot faster if he wasn't taking Kenshin with him," Anya explained. "He wants to make sure he doesn't drop Kenshin and split his head open. Unless of course you WANT that to happen-"  
  
"Just shut up," Sanosuke said.   
  
Heero breathed a sigh of relief, enjoying the short break he had from having two Bishonen peering over his shoulder at everything he did.  
  
"..."  
  
Snap!  
  
Anya glanced up at the sound. "Are they back down so soon?" she asked, slowly getting to her feet. "That was-"  
  
"Get back!" Sano jumped up and stood in front of her, in a fighting stance. Heero quickly closed his laptop, made it disappear to wherever he kept it, and also stood in front of her, his hand on his gun.  
  
"What's going on-"  
  
"FLARE ARROW!"  
  
Anya ducked behind her Bishonen as a nearby tree caught on fire from the magical spell. When she looked up again, her eyes widened.   
  
"You-"  
  
"Move and you will be attacked, perhaps killed," said a cold voice.  
  
"What on-"  
  
"SLEEPING!"  
  
Anya felt a heavy weight suddenly settle on her shoulders and her eyelids. Gently, the weight pushed her back into the tree, and slid her down onto the ground behind her two fallen Bishonen. There, the weight continued to push on her until her eyes closed, and everything went black...  
  
~*~  
  
"We're so high, that we are!" Kenshin cheered. "Look at us!"  
  
Chichiri couldn't help but smile at the Chibi's excited antics. "We are quite high na no da," he agreed.   
  
"I'm a bird, that I am! Look, I'm a bird that I am that I am!" Kenshin shouted, waving his arms around a little.  
  
Now Chichiri was laughing. "Stop moving so much or I can't hold onto you no da!" he chided gently. "And you don't want me to let go of you at this height, na no da!"  
  
Reluctantly, the Chibi stopped and contented himself with looking around at the scenery. "Wow, we're in the middle of nowhere, that we are!"  
  
Chichiri sweat-dropped. "I was sorta afraid of that no da..." He looked around, then frowned slightly. "Wait a minute... we're high enough to see for miles. If we can't even spot a road..." He snapped his mask off and shoved it into his pocket. "This isn't good!"  
  
Surprised at his friend's lack of 'no da's,' Kenshin gave Chichiri a confused look. "What's wrong Chichiri, that is?"  
  
"We're in the middle of someone's territory! We have to get back down there and get Anya out of here!" Chichiri began to mutter another incantation when a shout was heard from below.  
  
"FLARE ARROW! SLEEPING!"  
  
"DAMN!" Chichiri swore, and quickly finished his spell. In moments he and Kenshin were dropping swiftly to the ground, almost falling. Kenshin whimpered and held onto his friend and his wooden sword, wondering what was wrong.  
  
However, as Chichiri and Kenshin landed softly in the clearing, there was no one in sight. "Da." Chichiri looked around uneasily. "Anya-dono? Sanosuke? Heero? Anyone out there, no da?" he asked softly. Then, louder, "Let our friends go no da!"  
  
There was no answer.  
  
Chichiri swore again, in a much more colorful language this time. Used to such words, Chibi Kenshin merely slid out of the older Bishonen's arms and looked around, wondering where his trainer went.  
  
When Chichiri couldn't think of any more words that would appropriately describe the current situation, he leaned against a nearby tree for a moment and sighed. "Well, Kenshin, it seems we have to go looking for our trainer no da."  
  
"What? Why?" Kenshin asked.  
  
"Because if I'm guessing right, the Bishonen and Bishoujo of this territory are not very happy at having a trainer trespass right into the heart of their hidden homes no da." Chichiri's expression hardened. "And making a lot of grown Bishonen unhappy about that sort of thing... is probably not a good idea."  
  
"So what do we do to look for her?" Kenshin asked.  
  
Chichiri glanced around, then nodded towards some bushes nearby. "They left an easy trail for me to follow, fortunately no da. We should be able to follow and get back the others without too much trouble no da. But... we'll have to be careful, and we have to be quick and quiet no da. Do you understand, na no da?"  
  
Kenshin looked up at his friend's serious expression for a moment, then pulled out his wooden sword and gave it a swing. "Why else did I ask Annie-dono to buy me a sword, if not to protect her, that is?" he asked.  
  
The older Bishonen smiled and ruffled Kenshin's hair. "Good no da. Let's hurry after them, no da."  
  
~*~  
  
"Ugh..." Anya reached up to rub her eyes. "What happened...?" she murmured.   
  
When no answer came, her eyes opened and she looked around for her Bishonen. "Sano? Chichiri? Heero-" she stopped. And blinked. "What on earth?"  
  
She was lying on a cot in a small room with only a small window to let in any light. The room was barely big enough to call it a room, having a low ceiling and very little floor space.  
  
Anya sat up and peered around for the second time. "Where the hell am I? What happened...?"  
  
"Ah, I see you're awake now," said a familiar voice from outside.  
  
Anya looked up at the door of the room to see that it had a small window at the top of it, big enough to pass things through and to see someone face to face. And at that window was...  
  
"A Xellos?" she asked, amazed.  
  
"How observant of you," he said cheerfully, and opened the door. "I trust you won't try and escape, will you? There's a smart girl." He looked around. "Sorry about the horrid room, but it's the best we have on short notice, especially for uninvited humans."   
  
"What? Uninvited... what happened out there? Where am I anyway?" Anya demanded.  
  
Xellos raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't know? How interesting. You know, your Bishonen said the same thing. I suppose you were smart enough to make up a story with them. Something about being lost, I imagine."  
  
"We ARE lost!" she said, quickly losing her composure. "Where're Sano and Heero?"  
  
"In another room. If it's any comfort, their room isn't much better than yours is."   
  
"Why are we being treated like this? What did we do?"  
  
"I'll be asking questions for now," he said, raising a finger and wagging it at her. "Now, if you're honest, we may let you go without too much trouble. Though of course, that depends on what your oh-so-truthful answers ARE."  
  
"Answers to what?" Anya asked. She shifted a little on the cot.  
  
"Oh we don't want to know too much from you. Just one question, really. What are you, a human trainer, doing in the middle of our private territory, and not on the designated roads where humans are supposed to be?"  
  
Anya blinked. "I'm WHERE?!"  
  
~*~  
  
Mwahaha. I'm EVIL. ^_^ Oh dear, it looks like Anya's in a bit of a spot, eh? And stuck having Xellos as her interrogator, too. I wonder what'll happen to her and the others... (Hides as people throw random sharp objects at her head due to the cliffhanger)  
  
Chichiri- DAA! (Uses his hat to absorb all the sharp objects)  
  
Anya- I KNEW he'd mess up his landing point. (Hangs head)  
  
Chichiri- (sweat-drop) I SAID I WAS SORRY NO DA! Jeez, no da. (Throws his hat on the ground and marches off in a huff)  
  
Random fan girls- Aw... (Go off to glomp him and make him feel better)  
  
Anya and me- ... (sweat-drop)  
  
Anyway, for those of you who don't know- Xellos is a character from the Slayers series, more specifically, Slayers NEXT and TRY. And whatever future series that may come. He's got purple hair and creepy-cool purple eyes, though you usually don't see them cause his eyes are usually like ^_^. Like Chichiri's mask, if you need a reference. You only see his eyes when he's scared/pissed off/about to kill someone. He's very unreliable; he's only loyal to his master, Zellas. Did I spell her name right? Hope so. Anyway, he's also VERY powerful. You don't want to piss off Xellos Metallium.  
Oh, oh! And his favorite saying, though it hasn't appeared yet, is, "Sore wa himitsu desu," or "That is a secret." ^_^  
  
I hope you enjoyed. Please review, but please don't kill me for the cliffhanger! If you kill me you won't get another chapter... heh. Friends? (Offers cookies and Chibi plushies to reviewers)  
  
Chichiri- DAAA! (Runs by in SD mode, followed by a number of the random fan girls who wanted to make him feel better earlier) HELP ME NO DAAA!  
  
Everyone else-...  
  
Until next time! (Waves) 


	14. Chapter Fourteen!

Chapter Fourteen- Confirming the Story  
Notes- Hello, everyone! I'm glad you've enjoyed the past couple of chapters. Now, I present another person added into the story! I'll be adding more people in from now on, hopefully someone every other chapter at the least. Like I said, please be patient, it may take a while for you to show up. Thanks!  
And as an extra note, yes, there is another plot going on at this point besides Anya getting her Bishonen. There will be more stuff going on in a few chapters, I promise you! That said, please enjoy. ^_^  
  
~*~  
  
Anya blinked. "I'm WHERE?!" she demanded.  
  
"Do you need me to repeat the question?" Xellos asked politely.   
  
"But how did I end up in the middle of nowhere like this?" she asked, now ignoring the Bishonen. "How on earth did Chichiri manage to screw up his landing point so freaking badly? I mean, jeez! This explains why we couldn't find a road..."  
  
"Ano... I'm the one asking the questions here!" Xellos said, sounding annoyed. "Now do you need me to repeat the question or not?"  
  
"No, thanks. I heard it." Anya turned to him and spread her hands out in front of herself, palms up. "Look, you gotta believe me. I had no clue that we were in the middle of your territories. See, Chichiri just screwed up his landing point. Y'know, he uses his hat to fly places? So we wanted to get to Eutriv City quickly, but we ended up out here!"  
  
Xellos wagged his finger at her. "What sort of a story is that? You at least need to have a grain of truth in your story to make it at all believable, dear. You don't even have a Chichiri, or any magical Bishonen with you! All you have is a Heero and a Sanosuke."  
  
/What? Then he hasn't found Chichiri or Chibi Kenshin.... Good. At least they're not gonna get into any trouble with these Bishonen. Unless they try to break in and save the rest of us. That would probably make things worse... Damn it. / Anya shrugged, trying to look nonchalant about the whole situation. "Don't believe me? Oh, darn. Let me think up another story for you," she said.  
  
"Take your time," Xellos said pleasantly. "I love stories, after all." He continued to watch her with a ^_^ expression, though she knew he was really trying to figure out if she was a threat or not.  
  
"Look, the part about being lost was true at the very least," she said after a moment. "I really had no clue where I was... Actually, I still have no clue where I am... and neither did Sano or Heero. You know those kinda Bishonen, right? Sano can't tell his right hand from his left and Heero would never share his technology, even with his trainer. So of course we got lost."  
  
"Hmm..." Xellos thought about that for a moment. "Much better, but that still doesn't explain how you managed to wander into our territory past the scouts. They're quite good, you know. They always manage to drive humans away from the heart of our territory."  
  
"Dumb luck?" Anya said hopefully.  
  
"I would expect that from someone who owned a Gourry, perhaps from someone who owned an Amelia, but probably not you. Try again."  
  
"I'm not a threat, Xellos. Let my Bishonen and I go. Hell, you can teleport us out of your lands, if you want to. I don't care. Just as long as I can get back to a city where I'm welcome more likely than not."   
  
"...Your story still needs a little polishing. I suggest you stay in here, and try not to make too much of a fuss. We do have magical wards on these places just in case, you know." Xellos gave a little bow and turned to leave the room when he paused. "Ah, I see our other special guest returning. Perhaps you can swap stories for a while, hmm?"  
  
"What?" Anya peered around him.  
  
A young human girl with long black hair and wide dark eyes was being led by a silent Zelgadis towards her little room- rather, her cell. Anya's eyes widened. This girl was quite obviously human, by the Bishonen-ball-belt she wore around her waist.   
  
The girl gave her a just-as-confused look before being lightly pushed into the room.   
  
"Now play nice, ladies," came Xellos' cheerful voice from the hallway. Then Anya could hear him walking away with the Zelgadis. A moment later, everything was quiet again.  
  
Anya turned towards the other human girl. "Um..."  
  
"Ah...."  
  
"Hello," Anya said lamely.  
  
"Hi," the girl replied.  
  
"...I'm Anya." She held out a hand.  
  
"Jacky." The other girl took the hand and shook it.   
  
Anya smiled. "I'd say 'nice to meet you,' but it isn't really the best of places to be meeting other people, eh?"  
  
"True," Jacky sighed. "But it's nice to have another human girl to talk to. I've been stuck here for three days and I'm bored and confused out of my mind." She walked over to the cot and lay down on it.   
  
"Three days? How'd you get here?"  
  
"There was a storm a few days ago. I got separated from Inu-chan, and I was trying to look for him. I found this huge forest and figured it would be the most likely place to look for him, but... I ended up being caught by these Bishies." Jacky sighed. "Inu-chan..."  
  
"Inu-chan?" Anya asked curiously.  
  
"Inuyasha," she explained.  
  
"Oh, right! You know, now that you mention it... you look a lot like Kagome!" Anya said.  
  
Jacky smiled. "I get that a lot."  
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to annoy-"  
  
"No, don't worry about it. I like it. So how did you end up here?"  
  
"Well..." Anya paused for a moment. "You see, I just recently caught a Chichiri, and he offered to fly us back to town in his hat."  
  
"Wow, a magic Bishonen?" Jacky asked.  
  
"Yeah. Anyway, somehow he managed to screw up his landing point. We decided to look around and see if we could at least find a road, but I guess we just wandered farther into the Slayers territory. Chichiri flew up to take a look around the place, and then I was caught." Anya shrugged. "I just woke up a moment ago..."  
  
"Oh. Wow."  
  
"Hopefully I can explain this mess to someone reasonable and at least somewhat reliable so they'll let me go." Anya walked over to the door and peered out. No one was in the hallway. She turned around so she could lean on the door and shook her head. "Like a Zelgadis or something."  
  
"I don't know too much about Slayers," Jacky admitted. "I thought I'd been put in jail due to Lech or something..."  
  
"Lech?"  
  
"My Miroku."  
  
"Oh. Say, who else do you have?"  
  
"I've got Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Shippou."  
  
"Wow! So you've got just about all the main characters there, don't you?"  
  
"Most of the Bishonen and one Bishoujo, anyway." Jacky smiled. "What about you? Who do you have?"  
  
"Well, I have Sanosuke, Kenshin, Heero and Chichiri." Anya shrugged and grinned back. Then she slid down to the floor until she was sitting in front of the door. "So three days, you said? What do they do? I mean, why were you out there?" Anya waved a hand at the door at her back.  
  
"Oh, they're not really too mean as long as you don't look at or talk about their young. They let me out a few times a day for sanitary stuff and for exercising, if I want to."  
  
"That's nicer than I thought they'd be," Anya remarked.  
  
"Just as long as you do everything they ask you to, you're fine."  
  
"I'll keep that in mind."  
  
"And... Don't worry about that Xellos guy. He just fools around to see if he can get us mad," Jacky said.  
  
"Yeah, I figured." Anya rolled her shoulders back for a moment, then relaxed them again.   
  
The two teens fell silent, each staring off into space. Anya leaned back against the door, as Jacky stretched her arms over her head before shifting into a more comfortable position on the cot.   
  
/I wonder if everyone's okay. I hope Chichiri and Kenshin didn't get into any trouble out there. As for Sano and Heero... I hope they don't MAKE any trouble.../  
  
~*~ With Sano ~*~  
  
Sanosuke rubbed his head, groaning as he sat up and tried to figure out where the hell he was. "The $%&@#?" he muttered. He glanced around, then his eyes widened. "The hell?!"  
  
He found himself in a prison cell. There was a small window in the ceiling to let in some sunlight- though there was none right then- and there was a door, but other than that there were no ways to escape to the outer world. There were two cots in this cell; he was lying on one, which smelled worse than anything he'd ever come across before. Heero occupied the other...  
  
Wait.  
  
"The hell's Anya?" he demanded, jumping up from his cot to run over to the door.   
  
He promptly fell over, howling in pain. After that, he proceeded to use every swear word and phrase he'd ever heard, and loudly. When he finally felt better, he tried to get up again-  
  
And found his face pressed into the ground again.  
  
"The hell'd I get this headache?" he mumbled into the ground before pushing himself into a sitting position again. "Damn..." He scratched his head and looked around. "What happened?!"  
  
"It appears we've been captured by the enemy," came a calm voice.  
  
Sano turned to see that Heero was sitting up, staring at the door. "When did you wake up?"  
  
"When you were busy telling the world what you thought about the ground." Heero glanced around. "We've been in here a while."  
  
"How'd you figure THAT out?" Sano muttered.  
  
"Because it's dark outside."  
  
"..." Sano glanced up at the window. "Alright smart guy, any clue where Anya is?"  
  
"Obviously in another room."  
  
"I figured that," Sano snapped.  
  
Heero finally gave Sano a look. "Then don't ask," he said simply. He stood and stared at the window for a moment before turning back towards the door.   
  
Sano clenched his fist. /If he gets to be more of a pain in the ass in the next ten minutes, I swear to Kami I'll-/  
  
"You're awake."  
  
Sano jumped to his feet and nearly fell over again from the pain in his head. "Who's there?" he demanded.  
  
Heero merely raised an eyebrow as the door opened and someone slipped inside, closing the door behind them.  
  
"A Zelgadis, I take it?" Heero said.  
  
The figure, whose face was hidden by a hood, nodded. "And you are Heero and Sanosuke."  
  
"Wow, someone award the guy," Sano muttered.  
  
"I suggest you keep your tongue civil," Zelgadis said. "I also suggest you explain yourselves."  
  
"For what?" Heero said.  
  
"For being in our territory. Captured Bishonen are NOT to show their trainers their territory or the territory of another Bishonen people. And you, quite obviously, have done that."  
  
"What?" Sano asked, blinking. Then he swore. "I KNEW that Chichiri would get us into deep ****! But damn it, Anya didn't listen to me, no one listens to me. Oh nooooo, let's all ignore Sano 'cause he has no ******* idea what to do-"  
  
Heero gave him a look. "Shut up." He turned back to Zelgadis. "I don't suppose you'll be using a truth spell on us, will you?"  
  
Zelgadis pulled his hood off and gave the other Bishonen a smirk. "There is telepathy," he said.  
  
"Good, read our- wait a minute! You are NOT gonna go digging through my mind!" Sanosuke said, glaring and clenching his fists. "Ain't gonna happen!"  
  
Heero gave Zelgadis an almost apologetic look. Zelgadis returned the look before unsheathing a sword and aiming it at Sanosuke. "Now, let me put this in such a way you'll understand," he said. "We are in charge here. If you refuse your minds, we will assume you came here to give away our privacy to your trainer. Thus, both you and your trainer will be disposed of as a warning to the human society. Is that understood?"  
  
Sanosuke glared at him. "You've no ******* right-"  
  
"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Heero said, now giving Sano a glare.   
  
"Like I give a damn-"  
  
Zelgadis rapped him on the head with the hilt of his sword. Sano's eyes rolled up in his head and he fell over.   
  
Zelgadis then turned back to Heero. "Now, since you're willing to be cooperative, I'll start with you."  
  
~*~ Chichiri and Kenshin ~*~  
  
"Daaaaa," Chichiri moaned, and sat on the ground. His shoulders slumped in defeat. "I can't track their ki OR their footsteps anymore, no da. Someone here is very skilled at hiding themselves."  
  
Kenshin plopped on the ground beside him and sighed. "How're we gonna save Annie-dono now, that is?" he questioned.  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
The Bishonen sat there for a long while, staring hopelessly around themselves. Chichiri was lost in thought, trying to sense any ki that wasn't theirs.  
  
Chibi Kenshin's mind, however, was on other things.  
  
He clenched and unclenched his hands, staring at the wooden sword in his lap. /This would be a lot easier on both of us if I was fully-grown, that it would, / he thought angrily. /If only... If only I could evolve! Then I could help Annie-dono and Uncle San and everyone else, that I could! /  
  
Then came a sound of someone stepping on a stick.  
  
Chichiri jumped to his feet and grabbed hold of his staff. Kenshin grabbed onto his sword and slowly followed suit. "Who's there?" Chichiri demanded.  
  
Silence greeted the two Bishonen.  
  
"We know you're out there!" Chichiri declared. "I can sense your ki. Come down where we can see you, no da!"  
  
Again, silence. Then they heard a snort. "And what would you do if I didn't?"  
  
"I'd come up there and drag you down, no da," Chichiri said.  
  
A chuckle. "The hell not? This could be fun."  
  
A figure dropped to the ground, with an old sword in his hands- or rather, claws. His hands were almost human, except his nails were too sharp and too long to be fingernails. His hair was silver, and fell to his back like a mane. The figure wore all red, with a necklace as his only accessory. His feet were bare.  
  
"Inuyasha," Chichiri said with a nod.  
  
The Bishonen smirked. "Feh. Chichiri. And a Chibi Kenshin, if I ain't mistaken." Inuyasha barely glanced at the Chibi. "The hell you walking around here for? This ain't your territory."  
  
"Nor yours," Chichiri retorted.  
  
"True," Inuyasha agreed. Then his smirk disappeared, and worry flashed across his face before he was expressionless. "I don't suppose you've run into any trainers out here, have you?"  
  
"Besides ours, no," Chichiri said. "Why do you ask, no da?"   
  
"Besides yours? The hell's your trainer, then? Lazing around on her ass?" Inuyasha inquired. "Or is it a he?"  
  
Chichiri frowned. "Anya-dono does NOT laze around. She was kidnapped by whoever owns this territory."  
  
"The Slayers own this area." Inuyasha rested the hilt of his sword on his shoulder. "Mine was kidnapped too, apparently. The baka was stupid enough to wander in here without me."  
  
"So you're on a rescue mission?" Chichiri asked.  
  
Inuyasha snorted. "Please. I only want her back because I don't feel like going mad." He waved a hand.  
  
"Well, we are on a rescue mission," Kenshin piped up. "To save our trainer, that is. Will you help us? We can save both trainers, that we can."  
  
Inuyasha glanced at the Chibi again, and laughed. It wasn't a pleasant laugh. "Why should I help you? I only give a damn about staying sane. I don't care about you or your trainer."  
  
"You'd better," Chichiri said. "You know what Bishonen do to trespassing trainers."  
  
Inuyasha shrugged. "They let some off easy."  
  
"Not always."  
  
Now Inuyasha looked dubious. "'Course they'll let her off when they see she's about as smart as a tree."  
  
"A trainer's intelligence has nothing to do with it, and you know that," Chichiri said. "They'll dispose of her if she doesn't give a damned good reason for being in their territory, no da. And Anya-dono doesn't HAVE one..." He hung his head. "I'm the reason my trainer's in danger now..."  
  
Inuyasha watched the other Bishonen for a moment, then shrugged again. "Hmph. The hell not? Might be interesting. Just don't get in my way. I'm only there for Jacky, got it?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"My trainer," Inuyasha snapped, and turned away folding his arms over his chest.   
  
"Alright, no da," Chichiri said. "Have you any clue where to look no da?"  
  
"Clue? I got their scent," Inuyasha said, turning back and smirking again. "Try to keep up, will you?" With that, he leaped back up into the tree branches and started on his way.  
  
Chichiri picked up Chibi Kenshin. "No offense, but we'd better hurry after him," Chichiri said, holding his hat up.   
  
Kenshin gave the hat a dubious look.  
  
"I won't mess up the landing point again," Chichiri said, annoyed. "I'm following someone this time. Now get in!"  
  
The Chibi gave the hat another look, then nodded and jumped in. Chichiri nodded as well, and jumped in after him. Then the hat started after Inuyasha.  
  
~*~ Anya and Jacky ~*~  
  
"So..." Jacky said.  
  
Anya looked up- she had been about to doze off. "What?"   
  
"Oh, I was just trying to start a conversation. It's kinda weird. I haven't talked to someone in three days, but I can't think of anything to talk about."  
  
"Because nothing interesting has been happening in the past three days," Anya suggested.  
  
"True," Jacky laughed. Then she quieted. "Except for when Zelgadis read my mind."  
  
"What? He reads your mind?" Anya asked, sitting up straight.  
  
"Well, not too deeply. Just to see why we're here. He knows why I ended up here- you know, me getting lost and all. But the fact remains I'm still here, and they're debating what to do with me. That's why I'm still in this cell." Jacky shrugged.   
  
"Oh..." Anya looked away for a moment. "And I was hoping Zelgadis was reasonable."  
  
"Well, think about it. Even if we get teleported out of here with their magic, there's a chance we'd still know how to get here. We may give that information to other trainers, either deliberately or by accident. Those trainers may come after the Bishonen's young or just the Bishonen in general. There goes the Bishonen's privacy, and there goes peace between human and Bishonen societies."  
  
"Whoa," Anya commented.  
  
"Yeah, whoa."  
  
"Can't they get one of their mages to block that possible part of our memories?"  
  
"It's in the contracts that a human can have their mind scanned by magic Bishonen, but not changed," Jacky said. She shook her head.  
  
"Damn. Um..." Anya scratched her head.   
  
"And they can't kill us unless we DID come after their young, at least I think so," Jacky added. "So that's out."  
  
"That's a relief."  
  
"Well, yeah. But even-"  
  
A rap sounded on the door.  
  
"Yes?" Anya called. She stood up and moved out of the way of the door.  
  
The Zelgadis from before slipped in and glanced at the two of them. "I trust you realize the position you two are in right now," he said flatly. "This is a very awkward happening."  
  
"We're sorry about that," Anya said.  
  
"I'm sure you are," he said sarcastically. "Now if you don't mind, I'm here to confirm your Bishonen's stories."  
  
"You mean Sano and Heero?" Anya asked.  
  
"How's Lech and Shippy?" Jacky asked, sitting up.   
  
"They are in their cells," Zelgadis said.  
  
Jacky lay back again. "Oh."  
  
"How do you plan on 'confirming their story'?" Anya asked.  
  
"Didn't your friend mention it? I'm going to read your mind using the Telepathy spell," Zelgadis answered.  
  
"Right, she did mention that," Anya said sheepishly. "So what do you do if I confirm the story?"  
  
"It makes things complicated," Zelgadis said shortly, and placed a hand on her head.  
  
Anya shifted under his hand a little, and froze when he gave her an annoyed look. She opened her mouth to speak, then decided it was probably not a good idea at that time and closed it again. Zelgadis chose to ignore her and continue with his spell.  
  
"Telepathy," he intoned.  
  
There was a flash of light, and Anya felt suddenly as though she was standing entirely unclothed before this Bishonen. She glanced around frantically, looking for something to cover herself up with. Finding nothing, she gave up and stared at him helplessly.  
  
Zelgadis, however, seemed to be ignoring her still. His eyes were closed, his lips moving slightly, frowning in concentration.  
  
The sensation of being nude soon passed and Anya blinked as Zelgadis turned away from her abruptly.  
  
"This complicates things," he said simply, and left.  
  
Anya stared after him, then slid to the ground. "What... was that?" she wondered.  
  
Jacky rolled onto one side to look at her. "He read your mind, of course," she said. "So was it uncomfortable for you, or is it just me?"  
  
"I felt... completely uncomfortable. I'm so glad no one can do that back home," Anya said. "At least, I hope they can't," she added, and rubbed her arms. "That felt really creepy."  
  
"Yeah. I hated it too. And he did it like twice to me." Jacky shuddered. "Maybe he won't do it again."  
  
"I hope not," Anya said. Then she frowned. "So wait. Why would Xellos bother asking us stuff and not believing us if Zelgadis was going to do this anyway?"  
  
Jacky shrugged. "You know them better than I do."  
  
Anya sighed and nodded. "True," she said. She turned her gaze towards the ceiling. Then, after a moment, she glanced back at Jacky. "Oh, I got it! Of course, Xellos just wanted to piss me off. He feeds off negative energy. How could I forget that?" she wondered. "Then again, it's been so long since I last saw an episode..." When Jacky didn't say anything, she closed her eyes. "What'll they do now that they've read my mind?"  
  
"Leave you alone for a few days, like they have for me. After that, I've got no clue."  
  
The two trainers fell silent.  
  
~*~  
  
That's all for now, everyone. So what do you think the Slayers anime characters are going to do with the trainers? Or will they even get a chance at the trainers, now that Inuyasha, Chichiri and Kenshin are teamed up (or at least after the same thing)?   
  
By the way, Jacky, I hope you liked how I portrayed you.  
  
Chichiri- Will you people PLEASE leave me alone about my landing point, no da?! JEEZ!  
  
I didn't say anything!  
  
Sano- Yet, anyway... (Punches down a nearby tree without even looking at it, glaring at Chichiri) That's you in five seconds, Chichiri.  
  
Chichiri- DA! (Turns Chibi and hides behind the author) I didn't do anything, no da! Leave me alone!  
  
Sano, down boy.   
  
Anya- Yeah, leave him alone, he really didn't mean it. He got lost. Stuff happens.  
  
Sano- (huffs and runs off to destroy more trees)  
  
Anya- ...I don't get him.  
  
(Shrugs)  
  
Chichiri- (still hiding)  
  
ANYWAY... moving on. ^_^ I would like it very, very much if you all reviewed and let me know what you thought of this chapter. Mmkay? Okay! Until next time... 


	15. Chapter Fifteen Unexpected Savior!

Chapter Fifteen- Unexpected Savior, and Confusion!  
Notes- (bows) I'll keep you waiting no longer! Introducing another new trainer! I hope she doesn't scare too many of the poor Bishonen...  
  
New Trainer- (thwacks author over the head for that comment before racing after a nearby Tomo)  
  
Readers- (Sweat-drop, then go on to read the chapter)  
  
~*~  
  
Anya looked up as the cell door opened, then returned her gaze to the far wall when she realized it was the Zelgadis from the other day. As interesting as it had been to meet Zelgadis for real life, well, now it was just kind of annoying to talk to him. The guy showed an amazing lack of reason for the sanest character in Slayers. At least, that was what the Bishonen trainer thought.  
  
"We've discussed this trespass with our leaders," Zelgadis stated. He glanced around at both of the teenage girls. "And it comes down to two main choices for you."  
  
"What kind of choices?" Jacky asked curiously. She was swinging her legs while sitting on the edge of her bed.  
  
Anya too turned to look at Zelgadis.  
  
"The first choice is the best chance for you, at least, assuming you want to leave." Zelgadis shrugged; what he was saying meant nothing to him. "That choice is to let us erase any possible memories that may tell you where our home is and teleport you out to a nearby human town."  
  
"What?!" Both girls were on their feet, staring at the Bishonen incredulously.  
  
"You can't just do that! That's... that's..." Jacky said. Anya just glared.  
  
Zelgadis raised an eyebrow. "Well, the second choice is to decide to stay with us, should you prefer to keep your memories to yourself."  
  
"But you were in our minds!" Anya protested. "Come on, you KNOW we don't know anything about your town or where you people are!"  
  
The chimera Bishonen watched the two girls for a moment. Then he said, "That is mostly true with Jacky. However, with you..." Zelgadis turned back to Anya. "You remember talking to your Bishonen, when you were trying to figure out where you were?"  
  
"Just after we got out of Chichiri's hat?" At his nod she said, "Yeah, what about it?"  
  
"You were quite accurate, as it is. You are about five miles or so north of the city you were in. However, you started off north instead of south." Zelgadis gave a wry smile. "You should listen to your Sanosuke once in a while. It may save you from situations such as this in the future, trainer."  
  
Anya frowned. "But then you know I have other Bishonen out there."  
  
Zelgadis shrugged. "Your Chichiri is only newly acquainted with his powers, however powerful those powers may be. We have people on watch; they will not come. However, should you agree to the memory-erasing, they will go with you of course."  
  
"Damn," Jacky muttered. She sat back on her bed, crossing her arms over her chest.  
  
"I know it's not a decision you make immediately," Zelgadis said. "I will leave you for a while to figure out what you will be doing." With that, he turned and headed out of the room.  
  
"Great, just great," Anya sighed. She leaned against a nearby wall, preparing to think about her situation.  
  
However, just as the door was locked, there was a loud THUMP and a third person appeared in the already-cramped cell.  
  
Anya blinked once, twice, then shook her head. Then she rubbed her eyes and looked again. Finally, she gave up on logic. "Who the heck are you?!"  
  
~*~  
  
"There it is," Inuyasha said out of the corner of his mouth.  
  
The half-demon, Chichiri and Chibi Kenshin were perched in another huge tree that loomed over the front gate to what seemed to be a huge Bishonen city. Two Zelgadis Bishonen and a Lina Bishoujo guarded the front, scanning the forest constantly.  
  
Chichiri closed his eye for a moment to sense the kis surrounding him. His eye snapped back open. "Suzaku, there must be at least five hundred Bishonen in there!"  
  
Inuyasha snorted. "I see you're from a small village."  
  
"Yeah, no da. Only a hundred in my village, though our towns are spread all over, no da."  
  
The half-demon shrugged. "Whatever."  
  
"How are we getting in?" Chibi Kenshin questioned.  
  
Inuyasha snorted. "You're still gonna take that kid in with you?"   
  
Chichiri and Kenshin both nodded fiercely.  
  
"Bakas."  
  
"She's my trainer too, that she is," Kenshin said. "And I will use any power I have to help Chichiri save her and our friends."  
  
"Whatever, kid. That's your business." Inuyasha waved a hand. "Anyway, good question. I haven't thought about that yet..." He turned his head back towards the city. Chichiri could have sworn he saw the other Bishonen start to chew on his lip.  
  
"I wouldn't have a problem going in, but I'm wondering about you two," Chichiri said worriedly. "Neither of you exactly have shape-shifting abilities, no da."  
  
"Obviously," Inuyasha snorted.  
  
Chichiri shot him a glare, but chose not to respond to that. He closed his eye, trying to figure out which ki was his trainer's, and which were of their two fellow Bishonen.  
  
He soon found Sano and Heero, housed on the far edge of the Bishonen city. And nearby...  
  
Yes, there Anya-dono was. She was being kept nearby the two Bishonen, but in a different room, obviously. And... She was with two others. The two others were quite human.  
  
"It seems there are three trainers trapped in there, no da," Chichiri said. He glanced down at himself. With a POOF, he turned into a Lina Bishoujo.  
  
The other two Bishonen stared at him with wide eyes.   
  
"Well, no problem. Let's bust our trainers out, na no da!"  
  
"Er... Chichiri..." Inuyasha pointed at him, unable to describe what he was thinking at the moment.   
  
"Ochanoko saisai na no da!" Chichiri said, giving a victory sign as he adjusted the cape around his shoulders. "Now let's go!"  
  
((Note: I'm sorry, I HAD to add that line in, everyone! I LOVE that song! Just in case you don't know, he said, "It's a piece of cake, na no da!" ^_^))  
  
"But what are we-?! UGH!" Inuyasha slumped to one side. However, before he could fall from the tree, the monk Bishonen caught him by one arm.  
  
"Chichiri, what're you doing, that is?!"  
  
"C'mon, Kenshin. Help me with this guy, no da." Chichiri winced as he picked up the now unconscious Inuyasha.  
  
"Wow, you're so strong, that you are!" Kenshin said as they jumped down to the ground. "How did you knock him out? He looked so tough!"  
  
"Even demons have at least one pressure point on them, na no da," Chichiri said, and left it at that.  
  
The two tried to figure out how to carry the unconscious Inuyasha without dragging him, but couldn't come up with anything.  
  
"Can't you use your magic?" Kenshin asked in a whisper.  
  
"I might, but that'd attract attention no da! You two are gonna be my prisoners!"  
  
"Chichiri..." The Chibi sweat-dropped. "That idea has been used way too often to use on these-"  
  
"I'm open for ideas!"  
  
"Well, ano... I don't have any, that I do not," Kenshin admitted.  
  
"Then come on. Look a little scared and try not to look at me so often no da- I mean, don't look at me, kid!" Chichiri changed his voice so he would sound more feminine.  
  
Kenshin tried not to laugh at his older friend's attempts and assumed what he thought to be a properly scared expression. "How's this?"  
  
"Perfect. Let's try this!"  
  
~*~  
  
"Who the heck are you?!"  
  
The girl who had just appeared was lying on the floor, flat on her face. Unlike Jacky and Anya, this new arrival had blue hair; however, since she was obviously human, it was dyed, not real.   
  
Anya knelt down near the girl and poked her with a stick. "You okay?" she asked with concern.  
  
The girl groaned and sat up, rubbing at her face. "Owwww, wha' happened...?" She looked up and her eyes widened. "Where am I? What'm I doing in..." She stared at the other two girls. "Where are we?!"  
  
"We're currently prisoners," Anya told her.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Hi!" Jacky said. "I'm Jacky!" She held out a hand for the bewildered new girl to shake. After a moment, she did so.  
  
"I'm Abby. And you are...?"  
  
"I'm Anya." Anya grinned. "I'd say nice to meet you, but this isn't the best place to meet, ne?"  
  
"Okay, so why are we being held prisoner?"  
  
"Er, well, WE are, you're not," Anya said. "Seeing as you just got here..."  
  
"You didn't answer my question, Anya. WHERE ARE WE?!"  
  
Anya flinched. "Erm... lemme guess. You found that web-site?"  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"The Bishonen web-site?" At Abby's nod, Anya grinned again. "Welcome to the Bishonen world."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"What's going on in there?" Zelgadis' annoyed voice came through the door.  
  
"AH! Uh, nothing!" Jacky called back.  
  
"I hear three voices..." The door began to open.  
  
Abby turned around, and her eyes widened at the sight of Zelgadis. Then she grinned maniacally. Anya noticed the look and backed away quietly, having a strange feeling that she did NOT want to get in the way.   
  
Zelgadis noticed the look too, though he rather stupidly decided not to pay attention to it. "What in- who are you?" he demanded, reaching for his sword.  
  
"ZELGADIS-CHAN!"  
  
A moment later, the chimera Bishonen found himself sprawled out on the floor with a VERY surprised and VERY happy teenager glomping him. "Ack... Can't... breathe..." he gasped. "Let... me... GO!"  
  
"YOU'RE REAL, YOU'RE REAL!" Abby screamed, hugging the chimera even harder. Then, "OW!" She rubbed her forehead. "Your hair hurts..." Then she grinned again. "If YOU'RE real... then... VALGAAV!" She jumped off of the stunned Zelgadis and ran out of the door.  
  
For a moment, the room was dead silent. Then the two trainers looked at each other. Jacky raised an eyebrow. Anya shrugged.  
  
"Well, I guess we better make good our escape, huh?" Jacky suggested.  
  
"Yeah. Or at least make sure that Abby doesn't get into any trouble," Anya agreed.  
  
"Right. We'll find her and get OUTTA here. I don't want them messing with my memories."  
  
"Same here." With that, the two girls ran out of the room.  
  
The chimera Bishonen, still lying on the ground, could only watch them go as he struggled to regain his breath.  
  
~*~   
  
"Who's there?!"  
  
Chichiri forced his face into a nervous smile as he awkwardly dragged the still-unconscious Inuyasha behind him with one hand; his other hand clamped firmly on Kenshin's shoulder. "Uh, hi no- er, hi guys!"  
  
One of the Zelgadis' relaxed slightly. The other, however, was still on guard. "Which scout are you?"  
  
The magical Bishonen quickly tried to think about how Lina would reply. "Which scout have I ALWAYS been for you guys, no- er, no duh! You don't recognize me?!"  
  
The relaxed Zelgadis flinched.  
  
"Hell, they're guys," one of the REAL Lina Bishoujo said from her post. She grinned. "They never recognize the difference 'tween us beauties."  
  
"Eh... heh..." Chichiri sweat-dropped. "Er, damn right!"  
  
"So what've you got there?"  
  
"Prisoners, no- ah, that I just found sneaking around out there! This Chibi says they're after their trainers!"   
  
Kenshin nodded wildly, trying to keep the scared expression on his face.  
  
"Chibi?! One of those trainers has a Chibi!? Why I oughta-" The Bishoujo turned to start marching towards the prisons at that moment.  
  
Chichiri felt himself wanting to tell her that the Chibi had been caught by consent, but caught himself before he did. "Anyway, thought I oughta bring 'em in for questioning and stuff! Never know who they'd run to otherwise!"  
  
"True," one of the Zelgadis' said. "But I still don't recognize you..."  
  
"Ah, shuddup," the real Bishoujo said. She waved an arm. Then she peered at Chichiri. "You look happy today."  
  
Chichiri remembered then that his mask was still on and that it hadn't changed with the rest of him, and winced inwardly. "Hell, ah, wouldn't ya be?"  
  
"I guess so. Getting more trespassers' bound ta make you rich." Lina frowned in thought. "Maybe I should become a scout..."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous. You'd set up the whole forest in flames in an instant," the relaxed Zelgadis said shortly.  
  
"I would NOT!"  
  
"Anyway, you know where to take 'em," the Zelgadis said, waving an arm. "Just make sure they DON'T escape to their trainers."  
  
"You got it, no- I mean, of course!" Chichiri nodded and continued dragging Inuyasha through the gates.  
  
~*~  
The Bishies at the gate glanced at each other as Chichiri went on through. "Have you ever seen a Lina that happy before?" one Zelgadis asked.  
  
"No, actually," the Lina agreed. "I'VE certainly never looked that way."  
  
They all paused.   
  
Then, "Xellos," the other Zelgadis growled. "What's he up to?" He turned and started to march after the Lina.  
  
"Whoa, you can't leave your post!" the real Lina said. "Then you'd NEVER get to be a scout!" Then she clenched her fist. "Though if it WAS Xellos, then I'm gonna kill him for choosing to even ATTEMPT to act and look like me!" She paused. "But that's beside the point. We can always check in with the Amelias and give 'em a description."  
  
He sighed. "You're right... I'll figure out who that REALLY was later..."  
  
~*~  
  
Inside the city, Chichiri quickly glanced around before pulling Inuyasha and Kenshin into an empty storage room in the back of one of the warehouses. He glanced around, double-checking with his magical senses to see if there was anyone nearby, and found nothing. Nodding in satisfaction, he set Inuyasha down, turned back into himself and gently began to shake the other Bishonen by the shoulders.   
  
"Wake up! Wake up, Inuyasha no da! We're in!"  
  
"Ugh..." Inuyasha's eyes fluttered open. He stared blankly. Then he yanked out his sword. "THE HELL-"  
  
Chichiri put a hand over the half-demon's mouth. "Shh! We're in the city, you baka! We'll get caught if you scream no da!"  
  
Inuyasha ripped Chichiri's hand off of his mouth and was about to yell some more when he paused. "We're... in?"  
  
The blue-haired Bishonen nodded.  
  
"Damn..."  
  
"The oldest tricks do seem to work the best, after all, that they do," Chibi Kenshin said thoughtfully.  
  
Chichiri sweat-dropped. "Eh, let's discuss that later, okay no da?" He glanced around, then closed his eye to get a better sense of where they were in comparison to the trainers. His eye snapped open, and he stiffened.  
  
While Kenshin and Inuyasha couldn't see his real face, they knew that by him tensing that something was wrong. "What is it?" Chibi Kenshin asked.  
  
"The trainers... and that other human... are not in their cells anymore."  
  
"The hell you mean by that?!" Inuyasha demanded angrily. His hold tightened on his sword, as though he was preparing to use it.  
  
"They're not harmed," Chichiri assured him. "However... they're on the move towards us. We can intercept them and get away without too much trouble, I think."  
  
"Who cares about trouble?!" Inuyasha interrupted. "Bring it on!" He jumped to his feet, and his sword began to glow brightly.  
  
Chichiri smiled. "That eager to see your trainer again, no da?"  
  
"Feh!" Inuyasha gave the other Bishonen a glare. "Please. I'm eager for the fight. Both fights," he added. "After all, I'm gonna have to beat the snot outta Jacky for getting lost like that. Wandering off into these woods! How stupid can a trainer get...?"  
  
"Okay, okay, sure no da." Chichiri turned towards Kenshin. "Ready?"  
  
"Yes, that I am!" Kenshin agreed, waving around his small sword.  
  
"Then let's go see our trainers."  
  
~*~  
  
"VALGAAV! WHERE'S VALGAAV?!"  
  
"WHAT THE-?! THE TRAINERS ARE- Ugh..."  
  
"GOURRY-CHAN!"   
  
Anya leaned on a nearby wall to attempt to catch her breath. She watched with some amusement and some amazement as Abby continued to glomp every Bishonen in sight, yelling for Valgaav to show up.  
  
Jacky caught up a moment later, wiping sweat from her forehead. "How can someone... have so... much energy?" she questioned.  
  
"Don't... know..."  
  
Anya groaned as the girl Abby finished glomping onto a nearby Xellos and ran off. "Let's go..."  
  
They continued running for a while, trying to get the girl to stop glomping everyone. Finally, they just ran to keep up with her.  
  
/After all, / Anya reasoned, /those glomps ARE keeping us from being caught.../  
  
The two trainers skidded to a stop as Abby finally caught sight of a Valgaav. By now, Anya wasn't sure WHERE they were in the town. When they'd first ran out of the cell, she'd found they were on the edge of the Bishonen city. Now, they could be anywhere in it.  
  
"Val... VAL-SAMA!" Abby yelled, and latched herself onto the surprised and shocked Bishonen's middle.  
  
"What in hell-? HUMANS!" The Valgaav tried to shove the girl off, the first able to still breath after her initial glomp. "Get OFF of me..."  
  
"You're all REAL! This is SO COOL! You're VALGAAV!"  
  
"Yes, I noticed that! WILL YOU GET OFF OF ME!"  
  
"NEVER!"  
  
Anya, who had finally caught her breath, sweat-dropped. Jacky merely sighed and shook her head. "We're doomed, unless we can pry her off of that Bishonen."  
  
"Wait. Maybe..."  
  
"What, Anya?"  
  
The Bishonen trainer turned to Jacky with a small smile. "Maybe one of us can catch that Valgaav to keep her quiet. Then when she gets her own set of Bish-equipment, we'll free him and she can catch him."  
  
"Huh... hmm... hey, that's a pretty good idea!" Jacky exclaimed.  
  
"I'LL NEVER LET YOU GO, VAL-CHAN!"  
  
"AAAGH!"  
  
Jacky sweat-dropped and pushed Anya in front of her. "YOU can catch him, though," she said quickly.  
  
"Why me..." Anya complained to herself. Then she sighed. "Right. I thought of it... Well, here goes nothing..." She pulled out a Bish-Ball, then started towards the newly- appeared girl and Bishonen.  
  
~*~  
  
"What is going ON out there?" Sano demanded, trying to peer out the window.  
  
Heero, who had been working on his laptop, looked up. His eyes narrowed, and after a moment he put his laptop away. "The trainers are escaping."  
  
"What?!"  
  
The Gundam ignored Sano for the moment. "Which means we should try to break out as well. Hopefully the other Bishonen are too occupied trying to catch the trainers to bother with us. The trainers are the bigger threat, not us."  
  
"Alright then!" Sano grinned. "Finally I can put these fists to use!"  
  
"I wouldn't..."  
  
Heero blinked in slight surprise as Sano managed to knock down the door in one blow and raced out. Then the Bishonen smiled a little and stood up to follow his fellow captive out the door.   
  
As he went, he murmured, "How about that."  
  
~*~  
  
Chichiri had been prepared for almost anything to meet his eyes once he finally came face to face with his trainer again. He was ready for her to be injured, maybe seriously injured. He was ready for a ton of angry Bishonen and Bishoujo to be chasing after her, going for blood now. He was even ready to see her fighting for her life.  
  
However, he was only ready for ALMOST anything.  
  
The Bishonen paused, confused, as he surveyed his current surroundings. They were in a back alley of some sort. Various Slayers Bishonen and Bishoujo lay on the ground, trying to catch their breath- apparently they'd either been fighting hard or had just had the wind knocked out of them.   
  
His trainer was fine, thankfully. She seemed a little tired, but wasn't injured. A weight he hadn't noticed before lifted off his shoulders when his eyes fell on her, and he grinned. Beside her was...  
  
"JACKY, YOU WORTHLESS TRAINER!" Inuyasha yelled, racing at her.  
  
"Huh...?" the other trainer blinked, and her eyes widened. "Inu-chan!" she screamed back. "YOU BAKA! LEAVING ME ALONE LIKE THAT!"  
  
The two met in a big hug, babbling on about what big idiots they both were.  
  
Chichiri sweat-dropped, then shrugged. "Some people no da..." His eyes fell on the last scene. "DA?!"  
  
Another human girl, about Anya's age (at least she seemed so) was firmly wrapped around a Valgaav Bishonen, who was rapidly losing his breath trying to get her off. The girl had bright blue hair that went to her shoulders, almost his shade of hair actually...  
  
Said girl finally looked away from her captive and looked at him.  
  
There was a long silence. Then,  
  
"CHICHIRI-SAMA!"  
  
"DAAA!" Chichiri soon found himself on the ground, fighting for breath like the Slayers Bishonen.  
  
"YOU'RE HERE YOU'RE HERE YOU'RE SO COOL! I AM CHICHIRI-SAMA! YOU ARE SOOO COOL!"  
  
"Da..."  
  
"Chichiri?" Anya noticed him too. "ABBY! That's my Bishonen! Don't knock him out!" She started towards him; then her eyes fell on the nearly- unconscious Valgaav. "Oh, my... Chichiri, hang on a minute, will you?"   
  
"Sure... no problem... no da..." he gasped.  
  
He watched as his trainer ran over to the Valgaav. Then his attention was diverted as the girl latched onto him, Abby, started to talk again.  
  
"Oh, my God! You know I dressed up like you a couple times! It is SO cool to talk like you, you know that?! I AM Chichiri! Okay, I'm not. I dressed like Tasuki once too, it is SO fun yelling REKKA SHINEN at random times. You can scare your parents..."  
  
Oh, boy...  
  
~*~  
  
Anya knelt by the gasping Valgaav.  
  
"What do YOU want?" he managed.  
  
"I'm really sorry about this," she apologized. Then, she tapped him on the arm with the Bish-ball.  
  
His eyes widened, but before he could pull away or say anything he was sucked into the Ball. Said Bish-ball shook violently for a moment, then grew still.  
  
"Alright!" Anya said. "Now let's see if I can get that girl off of Chichiri, preferably before any MORE trouble comes our way." she glanced around nervously. However, there were only unconscious Bishonen around. "Okay."  
  
She glanced at Jacky, and found that she was busy hugging an Inuyasha that had appeared with Chichiri and babbling at him. For the most part she seemed to be calling both herself and her Bishonen idiots for a number of things. Inuyasha didn't seem to care; in fact, he was doing the same thing.   
  
Anya sighed. No help there.   
  
"Um, Abby?" she asked tentatively, walking towards the girl and Chichiri. "Er..."  
  
"What's up?" Abby asked, still tightly holding onto Chichiri.  
  
Anya noticed the blue tinge to Chichiri's face and decided to hurry it up. "Ano, I just caught Valgaav for you." She held out the Bish-ball. "He's in here. You read the description on the site, right? It's like that kid Pokemon show 'cept..."  
  
"I know, I know! You caught him?! For me?! You're so cool!" Abby jumped off of Chichiri to grab the Bish-ball. "Mine, mine..."  
  
The trainer sweat-dropped. "Um, not officially yet. We have to get you to a town to make you a trainer..."  
  
Abby, however, wasn't listening.  
  
Anya sighed and shrugged. Then she knelt down by Chichiri. "Chichiri? You all right?" she asked worriedly.  
  
"Ugh... no da..."  
  
She laughed a little at that.   
  
"Annie-dono!"  
  
The trainer fell on her back as Chibi Kenshin launched himself at her, hugging her tightly. "Chibi Kenshin! You okay?"  
  
"Yeah! What about you?" he asked. "Did they treat you alright? Chichiri and Inuyasha both said some mean things about what they could do to you, that they did, and I got worried..."  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"That's... good to hear, no da..." Chichiri sat up with a grimace. "That girl's got a good grip. Itai, no da."  
  
Anya laughed again. "Well, it seems like you'll be alright."  
  
"Yeah. Ano..."  
  
A moment later, Chichiri was bowing with his head touching the floor. "Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai, Anya-dono! Gomen nasai! We shouldn't have left you alone, and I shouldn't have used my stupid hat, I shouldn't have even suggested it, na no da..."  
  
"But he's gotten better!" Kenshin cut in. "He's much better at steering his hat now, that he is! Now he can get us to that town so we can get outta here, that we can!"  
  
Anya looked from the continuously bowing Chichiri to the happy Kenshin, and hugged them both. "Don't worry 'bout it, Chichiri. We're all fine, so..." she paused. "Wait. We gotta bust out Sano and Heero..."  
  
"Right, no da..." Chichiri scrunched his face up, sensing for them. Then his face cleared. "They're headed our way, following the commotion. They should be here shortly. We can escape as soon as they appear!"  
  
"Good, good! What about Jacky's Bishonen?" At Chichiri's blank look she explained, "She's got a captive Miroku and Shippou somewhere."  
  
"Oh, right. I thought I sensed different Bishonen here, no da." Chichiri glanced around, then nodded. "They're on their way too."  
  
"That's convenient. Can we all fit into your hat?"  
  
Chichiri blanched. "ALL of us, no da?!"  
  
Anya nodded.  
  
"You mean we're taking that INSANE girl AND Jacky-dono as well as the rest of us?"  
  
Anya nodded again.  
  
"I don't know, no da..."  
  
"Come on, please Chichiri?" she asked.   
  
"Well... ano..." He bowed his head again. "I guess it's the least I could do after I got you all into such a mess, no da..."  
  
She poked him in the arm. "Don't be silly. We're all alright, so..."  
  
"YOU!"  
  
~*~  
  
That, that, that BASTARD! Sano clenched his fists as his eyes fell on Chichiri talking to his trainer Anya. Thank Kami, Anya was fine, but...  
  
"How DARE you show your face?!" he yelled, strolling through the street. He ignored the unconscious Slayers Bishies around him, ignored the insane girl, ignored Inuyasha and the other trainer, and marched right up to Chichiri.  
  
"Daaaaaaa!" Chichiri turned SD and hid behind Anya.  
  
"After getting us into trouble, you think you can march right up and we'll say it's all right?! You've got it seriously wrong, friend." Sano cracked a few knuckles to make his point.  
  
"Sano! What are you-?" Anya began.  
  
"You all right, Anya?" he questioned.  
  
"I'm fine, but-"  
  
"Good. At least that's SOMETHING that won't go against you," he told Chichiri angrily. "First you get us lost, THEN you let us get captured by these people, what's next? Getting killed by wild animals, maybe? Or are we going to be captives in ANOTHER town?"  
  
"Sano, stop it right now!" Anya snapped. She stood up. "It's not just Chichiri's fault. It's my fault for deciding to go the direction we went. We should have listened to you and gone the way you told us, and I'm sorry about that. However, we're all fine, aren't we?"  
  
"But-"  
  
"Don't interrupt me! You have no right to appear out of nowhere and lay all of the blame on Chichiri's shoulders! This was an honest mistake!"  
  
"How can you be so sure of that?"  
  
"What are you implying about my Bishonen?" Anya asked flatly.  
  
"Damn it, I'M your Bishonen too!" Sano said. He crossed his arms and glared at her. "And I don't see why the hell-"  
  
"...SANO-CHAAAAAN!"  
  
"AGH!"  
  
Sano found himself on the ground, face to face with a girl he didn't recognize. And he was rapidly losing oxygen.  
  
This wasn't a good turn of events...  
  
~*~  
  
Anya blinked in surprise as Abby launched herself at Sano, then couldn't help but grin at his predicament. Maybe a few minutes of being glomped would get his mind off killing Chichiri. Not to mention killing her...  
  
She turned around to Chichiri, who had returned to normal height. "Come on, let's round everyone up and start getting them into your hat," she said.  
  
Chichiri paused, and pulled off his mask. The trainer could see he was worried. "He is right, though, Anya-dono. It is my fault we ended up out here, getting you in serious trouble..."  
  
"Not you too!" she said. "Come on, stop worrying about that until we get OUTTA here!" She glanced around. "I do NOT want to run into a Xellos Bishonen right now..."  
  
"Alright, Anya-dono." He sighed, and shook his head. "But I still-"  
  
"Start getting people in the hat or I WILL get mad."  
  
Chichiri winced. "Yes ma'am, no da!" He put his mask back on, yanked out his hat, and offered it to Kenshin. The Chibi hopped in without a word. Then Chichiri wandered towards Jacky and her Inuyasha.  
  
Meanwhile, Anya finally took notice of Heero, who had been watching the entire time. "Hey, Heero. You alright?"  
  
Heero smirked. "I'm fine. Thanks for finally asking."   
  
She sighed. "When you have insane Bishonen, it's hard to get around to everyone sometimes."  
  
He shrugged. "I'll go join the others in that hat." He walked after Chichiri.  
  
Anya shook her head, then finally set herself to the task of getting Abby off of Sano.  
  
~*~  
  
A few minutes later, the place was more-or-less saner than it had been before. Though the Slayers characters had returned to consciousness, they had all merely slunk away, trying not to be glomped again. Kenshin, Heero, Inuyasha, Sano and Abby had gone into the hat, which was now around Anya's neck. Chichiri, Anya and Jacky were still outside, watching as a Miroku and a Shippou hurried their way.  
  
"Finally," Jacky breathed in relief. "Guys! You alright!"  
  
"We're fine, Jacky-dono," Miroku said.  
  
Chichiri looked at the monk's staff and grinned for some reason. "Nice staff, no da."  
  
"You too, Chichiri," Miroku replied. He was also staring at Chichiri's staff and grinning.  
  
"Eh?" Anya blinked at them.  
  
Jacky laughed. "They're both monk Bishonen with staffs! That's so cool!"  
  
"Oh, hey, you're right... However, Chichiri isn't hentai... at least I HOPE he's not..."   
  
Chichiri blushed brightly enough at that the trainers could see it through his mask. "I certainly am NOT, no da! Not a chance!"  
  
"Nor am I. I feel quite offended by that statement, miss," Miroku said in a hurt voice. "I merely feel the need to enjoy life to the fullest."  
  
Jacky rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Come on, you two. We're going into the hat so we can get outta here before we get attacked."  
  
"Into the hat...?" Miroku questioned.  
  
Anya pulled off Chichiri's hat and showed it to Miroku.  
  
"Ah, yes. Those are quite handy, I believe."  
  
"They certainly are, no da. Go right on in!" Chichiri said. He took the hat from Anya and held it out for the two Bishonen.  
  
Miroku smiled and did just that, as though he'd had experience with magical hats before. Shippou gave his trainer a smile, then did the same thing.  
  
Chichiri offered the hat to the trainers next. Both jumped in; Anya did so eagerly, while Jacky was a little anxious. Not that he could blame her...  
  
"Da, this is going to be a crowded trip na no da," he groaned. Then he put on the hat. He too disappeared.  
  
The hat hovered in the air for a moment. Then it let a breeze carry it higher into the air, hopefully towards a HUMAN city...  
  
~*~  
  
Wah-HA! I'm done! ^_^ What did you all think? That was SUCH a fun chapter to write...  
  
Oh, to Abby (a.k.a. Tomo-no-Kakaka). I hope you don't mind how I portrayed you, but then again that's what you think you'd do if you ever saw Bishonen in real life, ne?  
  
Finally, everyone's safe and well, and headed back towards- hopefully- a human town! Boy, I wonder what's gonna happen next...?  
  
Sano- I'LL TELL YOU WHAT! BAM! (Hits yet ANOTHER tree) THAT IS YOU, CHICHIRI!  
  
Chichiri- (hides behind his trainer) DAAAA! Save me, Anya-dono no da!  
  
Anya- SANO!  
  
Random tree-lover- (goes after him with the BRANCH OF DOOM)  
  
Sano- AAAH! (Runs off)   
  
Anya- (sighs and shakes head)  
  
Er, well, yeah... that was Sano's opinion... Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I would greatly appreciate any comments as to what you thought of this part, or even what you might want to happen next! Who knows, I'm a flexible person. ^_^ Until next time! 


	16. Chapter Sixteen! HA! I updated soon! Are...

Chapter Sixteen- Back To Normal... Or Is It?  
Notes- Wai, I'm so glad you all liked the last chapter! Though to answer a question or two... First off, Jacky, your Sango is fine. I'll mention that later on. To answer another question, Anya didn't use her Bish-dex because... well, think about it. She was trying to come up with ways to get herself outta there quickly, and when you're thinking as fast as she was ATTEMPTING to do, then you occasionally forget things. (Shrugs)  
  
Anya- EXCUSE me? ATTEMPTED? I WAS thinking fast, thank you very much! I think faster than you do!  
  
Me- -_- (smacks Anya) Be nice to your creator.  
  
All characters EVER created by ff.net writers- HA! Like THAT'LL ever happen!  
  
Me- -_-v Anyway, please enjoy!  
  
~*~  
  
"ITAI!"  
  
Anya moaned as she rubbed her backside, on which she had landed once again. Then she gave Chichiri an exasperated look.  
  
"Chichiri, can't you get us out of that hat any way other than shaking us out of it?" she asked.  
  
The blue-haired Bishonen continued to shake the rest of the huge group out of the hat before putting it on his head and saying, "Gomen. But it's the only way I'm sure that everyone will come out. Otherwise I'd have to reach in and pull everyone out, and I think that may be awkward at some points no da."  
  
His trainer gave him a sheepish smile. "I can understand you not wanting to do that. Certain people could get touchy about that."  
  
"Speaking of touchy..." Jacky, who had just come out of the hat, stood up and glanced over to one side. "You may want to speak to your Sanosuke, Anya. He was kicking me the entire trip!"  
  
"He was? Why on earth is he acting up so much?" Anya wondered aloud. "He was fine about Kenshin and Heero joining up..." She shrugged. "I'll talk to him later. For now, let's just take a look around, huh?"  
  
"Well, this is certainly better than last time," Heero said wryly. He was leaning against a nearby wall. "We're in a human city for starters."  
  
Anya smiled and stood up to hug Chichiri for a moment. "See, I knew he could do it!"  
  
Chichiri turned slightly pink at that, and his expression became indignant. "Oh come on. It was an honest mistake no da!"  
  
"One that nearly got our trainer in BIG ****-" Sano stated from where he sat.  
  
"Watch your language in front of Kenshin," Anya said sharply. She glanced over to where the Chibi was peering around. Then she too began to look around herself.  
  
They had landed in an alley, where no one could see their entrance into the city unless they were purposely looking around in there. The trainer could hear a number of people beyond their landing spot wandering by, talking, laughing, and so on. She breathed a sigh of relief, despite her resolve not to; back in a human city.  
  
"Well, what do we do now?" Jacky asked.  
  
"I don't know about the rest of you all, but I want to get to a hotel," Anya said.  
  
"I agree."  
  
"Feh, who cares?" Inuyasha muttered. "Now that we're in the damn city, there'll be nothing interesting to do..."  
  
Jacky hit him on the head. "Of course there will be! There're the gyms, the food courts, the shops..."  
  
"God, not the shops."  
  
She hit him over the head again. Then she said, "I have a question. What do we do about her?"   
  
"Who?" Anya asked.  
  
Jacky nodded towards Abby, who was looking over her Bish-Ball curiously.  
  
Anya shrugged. "Well, first off we've gotta find an Orientation building or something for her to go to and get her OWN stuff. That way she won't get in trouble for using my stuff. After that... well, that's up to her I guess."  
  
The rest of the Bishonen (minus Miroku and Shippou) glanced at Abby and backed away a step, just in case she looked their way.  
  
The two trainers sweat-dropped. Then Jacky said, "Well, I don't want us all to be separated. Shippy, Lech, I want you guys back in your Bish-Balls." The two Bishonen nodded in agreement. In a moment, they were gone. The dark-haired trainer then turned to Anya. "Do you mind if we tag along with you a little longer?"  
  
Anya smiled and shook her head. "I don't mind at all. Be my guest- the more the merrier.... Hang on a minute." She scratched her head. "Memory tells me, you have a Bishoujo too. Didn't you say you have a Sango?"  
  
"Had," Inuyasha snorted.  
  
"Eh?" Anya glanced at him in surprise.  
  
"I killed her," he stated indifferently.  
  
"SIT!"  
  
An instant later, Inuyasha had his face pressed firmly into the pavement. Jacky glared at him. "Don't joke around like that, Inu-chan," she told him. "You get in enough trouble without opening your mouth."  
  
"Daaa," Chichiri mumbled, pulling his hat over his face. "I don't know these people, na no da..."  
  
Anya sweat-dropped at that. "So what about that Bishoujo, then, Jacky?"  
  
The other trainer shrugged. "Well, first off there were some disagreements between her and Inu-chan. Then she got real homesick. Like, literally sick. So I decided to send her home. At first she refused saying she'd get over it, but finally I convinced her."  
  
"So you freed her?" Jacky nodded. "Oh, okay. I was wondering about that, but I forgot to ask when we were back in the Slayers' city."  
  
"Speaking of which, you don't think they'll come after us, do you?" Jacky asked.  
  
"Oh, my GOD! Is that a HOTOHORI?!" Abby demanded.  
  
Both trainers turned to see that the other human girl was getting up and racing to the end of the alley to peer around the corner, and both sighed.  
  
"Da. I think we should make sure she doesn't get any other trainers mad at her, no da," Chichiri suggested.  
  
"Yeah, I agree," Anya said.  
  
"I suggest we make this group somewhat easier to handle," Heero said.  
  
"Eh?" Anya asked. She turned around to glance at him. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Personally, I don't think we Bishonen are safe around your new friend. Therefore, I suggest some of us return to our Bish-Balls. I volunteer."  
  
"Yeah, me too," Sano agreed. "I don't want that girl knocking me unconscious again."  
  
Anya smiled. "Alright. Thanks, guys. That would be a big help. We could certainly keep everyone in one group a lot easier."  
  
Heero nodded, and gave the slightest hint of a smile.  
  
"I'll let you out once we're all at the inn, okay?" Anya promised, holding up the two Bishonen's respective Bish-Balls. Both nodded.  
  
Then suddenly, Sano looked at Chichiri. "Ain't you offering to go into YOUR Bish-ball?" he asked.  
  
"Da?" Chichiri looked up, as though surprised that Sano was talking to him.   
  
"You heard me."  
  
"Oh. Shouldn't someone stay out though, no da?"  
  
"It would make things even better if you went in, too," Anya agreed. "Though I don't know if you'd be comfortable staying in a Bish-ball. I mean, you've had problems with them and your last trainer, right?"  
  
Chichiri winced. "That's true. But I could deal with it for a couple hours, I guess na no da..."  
  
"Really? Thanks!" Anya grinned. "I'll have Kenshin out with me, but this will make keeping an eye on everyone much easier until we reach an inn of some sort."  
  
"HOTO-CHAAAAN!"  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAH!"  
  
"Abby calls," Jacky said with a smile. She hit Inuyasha over the head one more time before bounding after the other human girl. With an annoyed growl, Inuyasha went after her.  
  
"Well then, let's hurry up," Anya agreed. She glanced at Chichiri. "Okay, here we all go. I promise I'll let all of you out at the hotel-"  
  
"Just do it already," Sano interrupted. "Or that Bishonen won't be able to breathe."  
  
Anya nodded. A moment later, the three grown Bishonen were gone. She turned towards Kenshin. "You don't mind being out here with me, do you?" she asked.  
  
"Of course not," the Chibi replied. He shuddered. "I don't like the Bish-ball, that I do not."  
  
"All right. Let's go and catch up with Jacky."  
  
Trainer and Chibi went out of the alley and peered around. Then both promptly sweat-dropped.  
  
Abby had attached herself to a Hotohori Bishonen, who was trying to remain dignified while shoving her off. Neither attempt was working very well; Hotohori's hair was already becoming a mess. Plus, he hadn't made any progress yet in pushing her away.  
  
Jacky was attempting to help the Hotohori, but also wasn't making any headway. She had her hands wrapped around one of Abby's arms and had one foot on Hotohori's back for leverage. However, she was only managing to make said Bishonen shout in pain.  
  
Anya shook her head. "You were right, Chichiri. I don't know them either." Then she sighed. "Oh well. Let's go, Kenshin."  
  
"We need a crowbar or something!" Jacky grunted as Anya neared her.  
  
"What happened to Valgaav?" Anya asked.  
  
"I dunno. I think I saw her put the ball in her pocket."  
  
"Wonderful. We need a distraction of some sort... ano..." Anya glanced around at a growing crowd. "Um, can someone help us get our friend off this Hotohori?"  
  
"That little-!"  
  
Anya turned to see a VERY ticked off woman glaring at them. She was tapping a rolled up newspaper against her arm as she shot daggers at Abby. Said girl, obviously, was too busy glomping onto Hotohori to notice.  
  
"Get that kid off of MY Hotohori!"  
  
"I saw him first!" Abby yelled back.  
  
Anya sweat-dropped and sighed. "No, Abby, you really didn't. This is Hotohori's trainer, I'm betting..."  
  
"Damn right! Get OFF!" The woman strode over to where Abby was still latched onto Hotohori and began to try and pull her off as well.  
  
Note that the key word used there was 'try'.   
  
Finally, Abby got off of Hotohori, though it wasn't due to anyone pulling on her or telling her to get off. Instead, she spotted an Aoshi.  
  
"AOSHI-CHAAAAAN!"  
  
THUD!  
  
Anya winced, and hurried after Jacky to where Abby was now tightly attached to a surprised Aoshi Bishonen. "Poor guy... hang in there! We'll try and get her off..." Anya looked around. "I don't suppose there are maps anywhere around here, are there?"  
  
"Um... I don't know..." Jacky glanced around. "Can someone help us?!"  
  
"You'll NEED help if you don't get your friend OFF of my Aoshi-sama!"  
  
The two trainers winced at the sound of another trainer's angry voice. "Ano, miss, can you give me a map for a moment?" Anya asked meekly.  
  
"The hell should I?!"  
  
"So we can get her off of your Bishonen," Anya said, glancing at said Bishonen. Aoshi was beginning to look pale from lack of oxygen.  
  
"Oh. Well... ano... here." The girl pulled out a map and handed it to her. "This is of the entire city."  
  
"Thanks!" Anya opened it up, and began to study the map intently.  
  
"Anya, we don't have time to look at a map!" Jacky said. "We have to get Abby off-"  
  
"HA! I know!" Anya pointed at something on the map. Then she put on an expression of dumbfounded belief. "My GOD! Abby, look at this! There's this whole BUILDING FILLED with Fushigi Yuugi Bishonen!"  
  
"WHAT?! WHERE?!" Abby launched herself off of Aoshi and landed in front of Anya. Chibi Kenshin's eyes widened in worry and he hid behind his trainer.   
  
"Um..." Anya pointed to her right. "It says 'Orientation building' on it..."  
  
"WHOOO!" Abby was gone in an instant. "TOMMOOOO! NAK-NAK!"  
  
The two trainers breathed a sigh of relief. Anya handed the map back to the trainer of the Aoshi, who accepted it without a word. Then Anya picked up Kenshin, and both girls headed towards the Orientation building to make sure that Abby actually went in...  
  
~*~  
  
"This is so cool!" Abby exclaimed as the three girls made their way to a hotel two hours later. "So I can now catch my own Bishonen!"  
  
"Yeah, all you want," Anya said. She was still carrying the Chibi Kenshin, who was now sound asleep against her shoulder.  
  
"But that was still pretty mean of you saying there were Bishonen in there..." Abby shot Anya a glare.  
  
"Hey, you were suffocating that Aoshi. What was I supposed to do?" Anya asked defensively.  
  
"Guys, guys, let's just get our rooms, kay?" Jacky asked. She looked around. "Wanna share rooms for now? If you don't mind of course. It's been really cool traveling with you guys, you know." Jacky smiled. "Not to mention flying around in a hat was interesting."  
  
Anya grinned. "Sure! But... I let all my Bishonen out, and it may be havoc. I don't know if we'd be able to share a room..."  
  
"We can get one of those sets of rooms. You know, the two rooms who have inner doors?" Jacky suggested. "That way we could just pop in and out whenever we want! And it shouldn't be too hard to pay for! After all, these hotels are always cheap for beginners, and you're considered a beginner 'till you get ten or more Bishonen!"  
  
"Really? Awesome! I'm in!" Anya said.  
  
"Can I travel with you guys too?" Abby asked.  
  
Both trainers looked at Abby indecisively.  
  
"Come on, I'm not THAT insane ALL the time, honest," Abby said. "Just... when I meet new Bishonen. Besides, I want to be around other humans too until I get a grip on how things run around here. Please?"  
  
The other two paused, then nodded.  
  
Anya immediately said, "You can room with Jacky!"  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"THANK YOU!" Abby hugged Jacky. "You guys are so great!"  
  
"Ack... Can't breathe..." Jacky gave Anya a glare.  
  
"Hey, it's logical," Anya said. "I've got more Bishies!"  
  
"True," Jacky grumbled as Abby let go and hurried towards the hotel. "Well, let's go in and check things out..."  
  
"Yeah... hey, before we go in, I need to check something..." Anya pulled out a bag where she'd kept her money. "Oh, good, I've still got money. It's been a while since I last fought anyone."  
  
"Me too. We should have enough to keep us going until the next fight though. Hey, maybe we can team up to fight someone at the gym? I heard that if you win against a gym champion you get a lot of money."  
  
"Good idea! For now though, let's go and get our rooms..." Anya pulled out Heero's Bish-ball and looked at it. "I've never had them in their Bish-balls since they were caught, and I'm a bit worried..."  
  
"No problem. Let's go."  
  
~*~  
  
"SWEET!"   
  
Anya flopped onto one of the beds in her room (there were two queen sized), and looked around with a grin. Although the room wasn't the absolute best, it came pretty close. At least, to her.  
  
Then again, after being in a prison for two or so days, any decent hotel room was bound to look good.  
  
"Ahhhh..." Anya sighed and stretched, enjoying the feeling of the bed. "This feels so good... After I let the guys out, I'll take a shower..."  
  
"This is a nice room, that it is," Chibi Kenshin decided. He was still standing in the doorway, looking around approvingly. "And it has one of those TVs, that it does!" He happily ran over, picked up the remote, and began to fiddle with it.  
  
Anya grinned at him. Then she pulled out her other Bishonen's balls. "Here we go... Sano! Heero, Chichiri! Come on out, everyone!"  
  
There were three flashes of light.  
  
"DAMN, that took forever," Sano complained as soon as he materialized in front of his trainer. "What'd you all do, fall asleep and forget we were in there?"  
  
"You were in there for two hours and five minutes," Anya informed him. "We didn't fall asleep. I'll have you know you're all safe from Abby's glomps now."  
  
Sano, Kenshin and Anya all blinked in surprise at Heero's audible sigh of relief.  
  
"I don't understand why you're so freaked," Sano muttered. "YOU didn't get touched by her..."  
  
"And I'd like to keep it that way. I prefer being able to breathe," Heero replied. He then pulled his laptop out and started to boot it up.  
  
"How are you feeling, Chichiri-" Anya turned around and her eyes widened. "Oh my God!"  
  
The blue-haired Bishonen was curled into a ball on the bed, his face pale. He was trembling uncontrollably, his hands clenching and unclenching. His mask had fallen off, resting on the bed a few inches from his real face. Chichiri's eye was shut tightly, and sweat was beading up on his forehead.  
  
"Chichiri! Are you alright?" Anya knelt by him, peering at him worriedly. "Damn, this isn't good... Chichiri? Answer me!"  
  
If anything, the Bishonen curled up into an even tighter ball, as though seeking protection.  
  
"Oh God, I shouldn't have put you in your Bish-ball," Anya fretted. She looked around, as though looking for a way to calm Chichiri down.  
  
"Chichiri, are you okay that you are?" Chibi Kenshin asked. He ran over to the bed and climbed up next to his friend. The Chibi gently touched the other Bishonen's back.  
  
The blue-haired Bishonen shuddered at the Chibi's touch. Then finally, he whispered, "Suzaku..."  
  
Anya shook her head. "Chichiri, you scared me. You're still scaring me. Are you alright?"  
  
"I... thought I could handle an hour or two," he said softly. "But... I cracked. I can't stand being in there. I just can't. And she... she always put me in the Ball. All the time. Suzaku... I can't do it."  
  
"Chichiri... I'm so sorry!" Anya also reached out, but she rested her hand on his shoulder, not his back. "You should have told me you're Ball-phobic... or whatever the term is for you guys. I wouldn't have made you go in there..."  
  
"Is he alright?" Heero questioned from his spot. He hadn't moved from his laptop, but was peering over towards his trainer. Was it Anya, or did she detect worry in his voice?  
  
"I think so," Anya said. "Um... Kenshin, can you run out and get a soda?"  
  
"Yes, Annie-dono!" The Chibi was immediately racing out of the room.  
  
At that point, Jacky came in through a second door, the one that connected their two rooms. "I heard shouting. Is everyone- what happened to your Chichiri?"  
  
"He's fine. We just found out that I'm never putting him in his ball again, that's all," Anya replied firmly.  
  
"Oh... are you sure? He still looks a little..."  
  
"I know. Kenshin's getting a drink for him." Anya squeezed her Bishonen's shoulder comfortingly. "It's okay, Chichiri. I won't make you go in there again. Ever. I swear."  
  
The Bishonen finally uncurled and sat up slowly. Though he had stopped trembling, his face was slightly flushed from embarrassment, and he kept his eye averted. "I know it's dumb to be scared of the Bish-ball-"  
  
"It's not. I've had friends who are like that," Anya interrupted. "Well, scared of small spaces, though, not of Bish-balls." She smiled. "The point is that I understand, Chichiri. It's not a problem. We just know now that I'm not ever putting you into that Ball again. Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"Because... my last trainer said the fear was stupid, and... She wanted me to 'get used to it', no da..."   
  
Now Anya breathed a sigh of relief- he was talking normally again. "You mean that girl? Well in my opinion, she's not very smart then, is she? Don't worry about it. I won't put you in there."  
  
"Hang on just a second here," Sanosuke said. He crossed his arms. "If you're so freaked about the Bish-ball, why are you so calm about your damn hat? It's the most cramped place I've ever been!"  
  
"I'm used to THAT, no da," Chichiri explained. "But I was raised hearing from my parents about how unpleasant Bish-balls were. Then I was caught by that girl and, ano... That's why I don't, you know, no da."  
  
"Let's just forget about this," Anya said. "No more Bish-ball for you, young man," she said, imitating a mother scolding a child.  
  
Chichiri smiled faintly. "Yes, mother no da."  
  
She grinned at him, then looked up at the sound of footsteps. "Hey, Kenshin! Great timing!"  
  
"I got lime soda, that I did!" Kenshin announced, holding up the can for Chichiri to see.  
  
"... Indeed. Thank you no da."  
  
Anya glanced up at Jacky, who'd been standing there the whole time. "Was there something you wanted?" she asked.  
  
"Well I was just gonna check in on you and see what you thought of the rooms."  
  
"Sweet, aren't they?"  
  
"Especially after being in that prison."  
  
"Hey, that's exactly what I thought a while ago!" Anya said.  
  
"Wow, maybe we're psychic!"  
  
"Don't you mean psychotic?" Sanosuke remarked.  
  
Anya threw a nearby pillow at him. "Meanie."  
  
Back came the pillow. "Oh, I'm hurt."  
  
She grabbed another pillow and threw both at him at the same time. "You should be. I am NOT psychotic."  
  
"You sure?" He grabbed a pillow from the other bed and lunged at her.  
  
"YEEK!" Anya picked up her own to defend herself with.  
  
Jacky grinned and grabbed yet another one, and hit Sano squarely on the head.  
  
"Hey, two against one's not fair!" he complained.  
  
"I'll help you, Uncle San, that I will!" Kenshin announced. He picked up one of the fallen pillows nearby and started to beat at Anya with it.  
  
"PILLOW FIGHT!" Anya announced.  
  
"THIS IS WAR!" Sano roared.   
  
((Note- hey cool, that sorta rhymed. ^_^ Sorry, shutting up now.))  
  
"I'll help you, Anya-dono no da!" Chichiri said. He set his drink on a nearby table, grabbed his mask, put it on and grabbed two pillows and plunged on in.  
  
"AH! Chichiri, I'm on your side!"  
  
"Gomen na no da!"  
  
"Ah, forget the damned sides! Every man for himself- ITAI!"  
  
"That's what you get for calling me a man! Do you think the name 'Jacky' was meant for a GUY?!"  
  
"Yeah, really!"  
  
"DAAAA! I'll get you for that, Kenshin na no da!"  
  
"Ha, there you go Kenshin."  
  
"Thanks, Annie-dono!"  
  
"Will you STOP calling me Annie?!"  
  
Heero watched the group for a while with one eyebrow raised. Then he sighed, shook his head with a small smile on his face, and returned his gaze to the computer.  
  
A few minutes later, Inuyasha peered in. "The hell's making all that noise?" he growled.  
  
Heero pointed at the group of pillow fighters without looking up.  
  
"Feh. Immature kids."   
  
Heero shrugged.  
  
"Yeah, nice having a conversation with you too," Inuyasha said sarcastically. Then, "OW! What was that for?!"  
  
Jacky grinned- she had just hit him with a pillow. "That's what you get for being mean to- EEP! That's not fair! Let go of me!"  
  
"Like hell! You apologize, damn it!"  
  
"I'll save you, Jacky- Chichiri, ack! Stop it!" Anya yelped.  
  
"Surrender na no da! I am the pillow king no da- DA!"  
  
"Gotcha, Chichiri! I'm the best damned fighter in this room!" Sano gloated.  
  
There was a chorus of, "Oh yeah?" as they all attacked Sano.  
  
In the other room, Abby glanced in, then shut the door. Then she looked at Miroku and Shippou, who had also wisely decided to stay out of the fight. Finally, she sighed. "And they call ME insane..."  
  
~*~  
  
"What do you want, Logan?"  
  
"I just got a message from our friend."  
  
"Your friend, you mean?" the redhead, Bryanna, asked. She looked up from reading one of her favorite mangas.  
  
"However you want to call her. She needs some help in discovering some Bishonen and some trainers."  
  
"Maybe you should tell her to go into the nearest town and take a look. Last time I checked there were plenty of both in these parts."  
  
Logan frowned. "Be serious, Bryanna. I mean she wants us to help her find a trainer who's VERY close to her Bishonen."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"She thinks it's the key to getting halflings that don't die on you immediately. And trainers who KNOW who they're stuck with will be more willing to comply with her demands. At least, that's her reasoning."  
  
"I meant why us? Why can't she do her own dirty work? I still think her ideas of research are disgusting." Bryanna returned her gaze to her manga.  
  
"Because we know character better than anyone. That's a direct quote from you, by the way."  
  
"When did I ever- oh, forget it. Fine, I'll help look for some people, but later. I have to finish this, then make sure the Yamis aren't killing each other out in the backyard."  
  
"Yami was chasing Bakura around with the hose, last time I saw them."  
  
"Oh, dear."  
  
"And Vegeta was having fun taunting Lina."  
  
"Uh-oh. I better get down there before she blows up the house..." Bryanna stood and ran a hand through her hair. Then, without another word, she hurried out of the room.  
  
Logan watched her go, then shook her head. "If our friend's gonna take care of the halflings for us, then who cares what kind of research she does? Though I do have to admit I doubt most of it is actual necessary research..." He shrugged. "Too much thinking's bad for you. I'm gonna go check in on Rikku and see if she's eaten all of the sugar yet..." With that, he too left the room.  
  
The manga, dropped carelessly by the redhead trainer, lay on the floor, completely forgotten.  
  
~*~  
  
Done again already! I tell you I'm having too much fun with this these days... Hehe, pillow fight with Bishies...  
  
Chichiri- (reads about himself, turns red and immediately hides in his hat so fangirls won't bother him)  
  
Anya- (reads and sweat-drops)  
  
Jacky- (does the same as Anya)  
  
Abby- Mwahahaha. I am a trainer now! Fear me!  
  
Everyone else- (sweat-drops)  
  
Heh... well, that's their opinions... what did you all think? ^_^  
  
Oh right! Notes!  
  
Aoshi is a character from Rurouni Kenshin. He's real quiet but very dedicated to what he believes in. One of the other characters, Misao, is obsessed with him, but I won't get into that. He's got short dark hair and cold blue eyes. And he's great with his weapons.  
  
Yami and Bakura are both from Yu-Gi-Oh. They're the Yamis (dark sides) of Yugi and Ryou, who find these Millennium Items that have magical powers. They get the Yamis because they gained those items and are thus bonded to them. Yami's pretty sane for the most part, but NEVER give Bakura anything sharp or flammable. ^_^ 


	17. Chapter Seventeen! I updated even sooner...

Chapter Seventeen- Battle   
Notes- I've been given explicit instructions to promote a friend, so I'm going to do it quickly and painlessly. You know the Abby in this story? She's an author here. Her penname is Tomo-no-Kakaka. Read her stuff, lest she scares more Bishonen.  
  
Tomo-no-Kakaka- -_- (hits author upside the head before grabbing a butterfly net and runs off) TOMOOOO!  
  
Readers- ...  
  
Now... eh... (Rubs head) On with the story! Here I introduce yet another new person! Someone who has asked me at least three times to be in the story... Heh... Thank you for being so patient. (Bows) Please enjoy!  
  
~*~  
  
Anya stretched her arms over her head, grinning as she looked up at the sky. "Ah, it feels so good to wake up in a human city!" she announced to no one in particular.  
  
"Totally," Jacky agreed. "Sleeping on dirty cots with barely any cushioning was getting really old, really fast. So was the lack of decoration."  
  
Sanosuke sweat-dropped. "Your lives were in jeopardy and you worried about the paint job?"  
  
"Essentially," Jacky said with a smile.  
  
"Why am I stuck with the trainers who are obsessed with home decoration?" the Bishonen complained, looking up at the sky dramatically.  
  
"Because you're lucky?" Anya suggested.  
  
"I wouldn't call it lucky," Inuyasha grumbled. Jacky nudged him with her elbow.   
  
"So where are we off to first this morning?" Abby asked. She was now wearing her own Bish-belt, with Valgaav's Bish-ball displayed on it. A big sticker with the letter 'V' was on top of it.  
  
"The gym," Anya said. "I've gotta get more money, definitely. Even though we found a good enough hotel that didn't cost too much, I need more to keep us there until we want to leave. As opposed to being kicked out of there when I run out of money."  
  
"That's sound logic, no da," Chichiri said. He was walking alongside Anya, his staff giving off a soft jingling sound as he moved.  
  
"I thought so." Anya grinned at him.  
  
"And after?"  
  
"If we win any money, I'll buy us all lunch."  
  
"ALL of us?!" Sanosuke demanded.  
  
"Yep." Then Anya gave him a thoughtful look. "Well, except you I guess. After all, you don't want to be seen with trainers that are... what did you call us? Oh yeah, 'obsessed with home decoration'. So you can just go back to the hotel and wait for us instead, since you were so concerned about it."  
  
Jacky stifled a laugh at the look on Sano's face.  
  
"And after that," Anya continued, "I want to get my Bish-dex checked out." She pulled out the Dex in question and poked it with a stick. "It didn't react to me capturing Chichiri, the way it reacted to the rest of my Bishonen, and I want to find out why."  
  
"Sounds like a plan," Jacky said.   
  
"Yep, and it's a good one too!" Anya announced.  
  
"Aren't they all," Sano muttered.  
  
Anya hit him.  
  
"I STILL don't know any of you, if anyone asks no da..."  
  
Heero rolled his eyes, while Inuyasha muttered to himself.   
  
As the group wandered down the street, they had to pause occasionally while Jacky pulled Miroku by the ear away from whichever female (Bishonen OR human) they came across. Anya had to pause once as well to drag both Kenshin and Sanosuke away from a shop selling weapons.   
  
Finally, they reached the gym.  
  
"Well, it seems open," Jacky said. She gestured to the double doors. Inside, the group could see a couple people moving around. "Shall we?"  
  
"We shall!" Abby said.  
  
Anya and Jacky gave her odd looks while sweat dropping. "Right..."  
  
Once inside, the three trainers walked up to the desk while the Bishonen wandered around the lobby. Chibi Kenshin headed off with Chichiri to figure out how the darned coffee makers worked while Sanosuke peered into the door with the workout area. Inuyasha leaned against a wall with his sword in one hand, already tapping his foot in impatience. Miroku peered out the double doors to the streets, gazing thoughtfully after every female that passed. Heero sat down, pulled out his laptop, and proceeded to continue typing.  
  
"May I help you ladies?" a man behind the desk asked.  
  
"Yes, we'd all like to check out the gym for a while," Jacky said.  
  
"No problem. Are you all aware we have a guest trainer here today?"  
  
"Really?!"  
  
"Yep. She came in last week, but she's thinking of heading off. No one's challenged her at all this week. You see, she's only using magical Bishonen for now."  
  
"Ah." Jacky nodded as though she understood.  
  
"Eh?" Abby questioned.  
  
Jacky turned towards the newest trainer. "You see, magical Bishonen are supposed to only fight other magical Bishonen. Fighters go against fighters, while those with supernatural powers- say a Yusuke- can only fight against others like them. And so on."  
  
"Ooh." Abby nodded. Then she grinned. "My Valgaav has magic!" she announced.  
  
Anya sweat-dropped. "We're aware of that."  
  
"And Inuyasha's kind of got a magic sword," Jacky murmured.  
  
"Chichiri's definitely magical," Anya said. "So is the trainer here right now?"  
  
"Yeah, been here all morning. You guys gonna fight her?"  
  
"Definitely! Hey, Chichiri!"  
  
The Bishonen looked away from the coffee maker, which was overflowing with the dark liquid. "Yes?"  
  
"Would you mind fighting someone today?"  
  
"Not at all, no da- KENSHIN!" Chichiri picked up a coffee-covered Kenshin, who was blinking in surprise, a half-filled pot of coffee in one hand. "Daaaaaaa..." Chichiri hung his head.  
  
"Oh, dear," Anya said, running over.  
  
"Is Kenshin alright?" Jacky asked.  
  
Anya knelt down with a bunch of napkins to wipe some of the coffee out of the Chibi's hair. "Yeah, he's fine."  
  
"Oh, good." Jacky turned back to the man, who was sweat dropping. "Sorry about that. We're all going to have a try against this trainer."  
  
"Great! I'll let her know right away!" The man smiled. "In the meantime, why don't you go on into the workout rooms? Please give me your names so we can call you when the trainer is ready for you all."  
  
"That'd be awesome!" Jacky quickly gave the man their names before thanking him and running over to help Anya clean off Kenshin.  
  
The Chibi was now looking thoroughly embarrassed, as soon the other Bishonen noticed his coffee-covered condition and came over to see what happened. Sanosuke, Miroku, Shippou, Heero and Chichiri were nice enough about it, hiding smiles behind their hands.   
  
Inuyasha, however, had no such qualms. One look at Kenshin and he burst out laughing.  
  
"Oh, shut up," Anya muttered. "There, I think that'll do... Erm, how about you go and wash up in the bathrooms, Kenshin? I can't get any more off of you."  
  
Kenshin nodded, and glanced at Sanosuke. The older Bishonen nodded and both walked off towards the restrooms.  
  
The half-demon Inuyasha continued laughing at the Chibi. "Ha! What a little idiot! He-"  
  
"SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT!"  
  
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!  
  
Inuyasha groaned as his necklace pressed him repeatedly into the ground. "Damn it, woman..."  
  
"You do NOT make fun of a Chibi, no matter what!" Jacky said hotly. "Especially a friend's!"  
  
"I don't know what the fuss is about," Inuyasha said, looking annoyed as he sat up. "I'M not her friend, after all..." He noticed that the others were snickering. "What are YOU all laughing at?"  
  
Jacky laughed and pointed at him. "You're covered in coffee, Inu-chan!"  
  
"What..." Inuyasha lifted a hand to touch his face, and the expression he gave was priceless. "I...ano... DAMN IT WOMAN!" He ran off after Sanosuke and Kenshin.  
  
Anya wiped a tear from her eye and took a few deep breaths to stop laughing. "You guys are a treat, you know that?" she asked Jacky. "Come on, let's go on to the workout room."  
  
The guy behind the desk breathed a sigh of relief as the group left the room. "I thought they'd NEVER get outta here. Great, now I gotta clean up this mess..." He looked at the spilled coffee with distaste. "But, ah, first I have to go and tell the trainer she's got challengers at last! Heh, heh. Yeah. Giving messages are MUCH more important." He laughed nervously before running off.  
  
~*~  
  
Anya leaned against a wall, watching Chichiri as he found a spot on the floor and sat cross-legged. The Bishonen lifted a hand to his face and frowned slightly in concentration.  
  
She smiled faintly, then turned her gaze to where Heero was practicing against some kicking bags. He was amazingly skilled at the martial arts, though she wasn't really surprised about that. After all, in the show one had to be physically fit as well as mentally fit to deal with a Gundam.  
  
Then her gaze turned to Jacky, who seemed to be debating about whether she should use Miroku or Inuyasha for her battle. She was walking around in little circles, sometimes wagging her index finger at something unseen. Other times she shook her head or waved her arms, as though trying to make a point to herself. Finally, her eyes locked with Anya, and she came over.  
  
"I'm going with Inuyasha," she said when she got within hearing range.  
  
"Cool." Anya grinned. "He should do well."  
  
"Well, I don't know for sure. After all, we've got no idea what types of Bishonen we're going to be up against."  
  
"Hmm... Let's see. What other kinds of Bishonen have magic...?"  
  
"Magical ones, of course," came a voice from behind them.  
  
The two trainers yelped and turned around to see a Duo Bishonen laughing at them. "Sorry, sorry, couldn't resist," he said, waving a hand. "Anyway, so yer goin' up against Pyra? 'Bout time. She's gotten so bored just sitting here watching us train."  
  
"You're the trainer's Bishonen?" Jacky asked.  
  
"Yep. The one and only Shinigami!" he said, puffing out his chest and lifting his head proudly. Then he spotted Heero. "Heeeeey, it's HEE-CHAN!"  
  
Heero visibly winced. Then he looked at the door, which Duo stood in front of, and he sighed. "Hello, Duo Maxwell."  
  
"Ne, Hee-chan, how you doing?" Duo asked, grinning. "Ain't come across a Heero in MONTHS, I tell ya! You know how WEIRD that is?"  
  
Jacky grinned. "Good thing you're not fighting with Hee- er, Heero. If you did, he'd be annoyed by Duo to death," she murmured.  
  
Anya nodded in agreement.  
  
"So you're the trainers I'm going to be fighting?"   
  
The two trainers turned again to see a young woman standing behind them. She was leaning against the doorway, watching the two of them interestedly. Her arms were crossed, her head cocked to one side as she watched them. Behind her stood another Bishonen.  
  
"A Mirai Trunks?" Jacky whispered.  
  
"Yes, that's who I am," the Bishonen replied with a grin.  
  
"Oh, uh, yeah, I know that, it's just, er..." Jacky turned red and glanced away.  
  
"That's the best response I've gotten from a girl in weeks," Trunks commented. "Sorry, just messing with you."  
  
"I'm Pyra," the new trainer said. "And you two are...?"  
  
"I'm Anya."  
  
"And I'm Jacky."  
  
"There's another trainer here to fight you too, but..." Anya glanced around. "I dunno where she went..."  
  
Jacky sighed. "She probably ran into another Bishonen somewhere and is glomping the poor guy to death."  
  
Pyra laughed. "So I've got three challengers! Awesome! I was worried that people were losing the competitive streaks this world usually has." She dropped a hand to her Bish-belt, smiling. "Well, it's nice to meet you two. And I'm sure it'll be a pleasure to meet my third challenger. Now, how about we get to battling?"  
  
"Sure," Anya said. "Just one thing... I noticed you've got a Duo and a Mirai Trunks... but neither of those are magical Bishonen, are they?"  
  
"No, but they prefer staying out with me." Pyra shrugged. "I've got two magical Bishonen too. I don't suppose you've heard of Legend of Dragoon, the video game?"  
  
"Huh?" Anya blinked. "Uh, I can't say that I have..."  
  
"Well, they're from there. We'll be fighting one on one only, though. Who's fighting me first?"  
  
Anya and Jacky glanced at each other. Then Jacky grinned. "Inu-chan's still not back from the bathroom."  
  
"So I guess I'm up first, eh? Okay then." Anya glanced over at Chichiri, who seemed to be meditating still. "Let me get my Bishonen real quick."  
  
"Alright. No prob," Pyra said.   
  
"NO, YOU CAN -NOT- TOUCH MY LAPTOP!"  
  
"Aw, Hee-chan, please?"  
  
"NO!"  
  
Anya jumped and turned to see that Heero was actually -shouting- at Duo. /Whoa, / she thought. /That's amazing. I've never seen Heero lose his composure that much before. Duo must be pretty darn annoying today.../  
  
"DUO!" Pyra said loudly. "What do you think you're doing? Leave that Heero alone!"  
  
"But..."  
  
"No. Get over here and leave him alone."  
  
The Bishonen pouted at his trainer before obeying.  
  
"Sorry about that," Pyra apologized to the two trainers.   
  
Anya glanced over at Heero, who was still seething at the thought of a Duo even TOUCHING his computer. Then she sweat-dropped. "He'll be alright... I guess... I hope..." She gave Heero another nervous look before heading over to Chichiri and gently touching his back. "Chichiri?"  
  
"Ready, Anya-dono no da?!"  
  
She blinked. "Yeah."  
  
"Then let's get it going na no da!" Chichiri jumped off the floor, turned SD, gave her a victory sign and wandered over towards Pyra, who was watching him in fascination.  
  
"Wow, that's so cool!" Pyra exclaimed. "I didn't know Bishonen could turn Chibi at will!"  
  
"Ano... it's SD no da," Chichiri said. He returned to normal. "You're the trainer, I take it?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"I'm Chichiri no da!"  
  
"Hello, Chichiri no da."  
  
"Actually, it's just Chichiri," Anya said with a small grin. "Shall we?"  
  
"Anytime. The fighting room is right over this way." Pyra gestured to a room behind her. "Let's get going!"  
  
"Right!" Anya turned to Jacky, who was looking at the door to the restrooms uncertainly. "Hey, can you keep an eye on the guys? Whenever they come out of there, can you send them in to watch if they want?"  
  
"Sure, no problem! But I'm not taking responsibility if Abby suffocates a Bishonen."  
  
"Well neither am I. Maybe she just dragged her Valgaav into a corner and is glomping HIM... After a few times you'd think he'd become a little resistant to it."  
  
"Yeah, really. Good luck!" Jacky waved and leaned against the wall to watch the other Bishonen.  
  
~*~  
  
"OH MY GOD! IT'S NAK-NAAAAAK!"  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAH.... Ugh..."  
  
"I'LL NEVER LET YOU GO! NAK-NAK IS SOOO COOL AND NEEDS A HUG!"  
  
"Ack... Erg... can't... breathe... help... gleah..."  
  
"GET OFF OF MY NAKAGO!"  
  
"NEVER!"  
  
~*~  
  
"So what Bishonen are you using in the match?" Anya asked when they got into the fighting room. The room vaguely resembled a huge school gym, including the bleachers, only everything was new and in good taste.  
  
"I've decided that I'm going to use Dart."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Right, you've never heard of him. Dart, come out!"  
  
There was a flash of light, and a Bishonen appeared. He had spiked blonde hair with bright blue-green eyes. His hair was held away from his face by a red headband. Actually, his armor was red, and he had black leggings and boots to finish off the outfit. A sword rested against his hip.  
  
"Whoa," Anya said.  
  
"Isn't he?" Pyra laughed. "I only planned to capture anime guys at first, but I saw him and another Bishonen from L.O.D. and I couldn't help it! So I've been trying to get their experience levels up by challenging people at the gyms and being challenged. But they haven't had a good fight in a whole week."  
  
"Well, I'll try and be the first good one," Anya promised.  
  
Chichiri poked her lightly with his staff. "Of course we'll be the first good ones, na no da!" he said, sounding offended. "And here I thought you had faith in me, Anya-dono no da."  
  
She laughed and shook her head. "Go get 'im, 'Chiri."  
  
"I thought you'd never ask." Chichiri stepped forward; his staff jingled slightly as he did so. "I give full consent to fight for Anya-dono no da!"  
  
"And I give consent to fight for Pyra's behalf," Dart replied, drawing his sword. It made a satisfying hissing noise as he pulled it out, and it flashed in the light filtering in from the windows.  
  
Duo, who had wandered in during this, whooped and gave a victory sign. "In that case, LET'S GET IT ON!" he hollered.  
  
Trainers and Bishonen alike gave him odd looks.  
  
"I've always wanted to say that," he said with a shrug and a sheepish smile.  
  
Pyra shook her head. "That's Duo for ya. Dart, transform into Dragoon!"  
  
Dart nodded.  
  
"Chichiri, start preparing your spells!"  
  
"Already done so no da!" Chichiri's hands were at his face again as he began to murmur incantations to himself.  
  
Meanwhile, Dart held up what seemed to be a ruby as though showing it to anyone who cared. Then he clasped it in both hands and screamed as a burst of fire erupted from the ruby.  
  
"What the?!" Anya demanded.  
  
"It's alright," Pyra said quickly. "Here, you'll see."  
  
Anya watched, amazed, as the Dart Bishonen was covered in flames, but not harmed. Those flames soon turned into full-body armor and wings on his back, which also held a touch of emerald on them. The ruby was gone, as though it was never there. Dart clenched his hands and held up his sword in challenge. Chichiri lifted his staff to acknowledge that, still muttering.  
  
Then he finally shouted, "HAA!"  
  
"FLAME SHOT!"  
  
Fire met ki energy in two huge blasts, and there was a small explosion. Anya covered her eyes- the blast was extremely bright- and hoped that Chichiri wasn't going to push himself too hard for this fight.  
  
After a moment, she could open her eyes again and found that Chichiri and Dart were clashing staff and sword. Dart was still in that strange, fiery armor, and Anya worried that it might burn Chichiri. However, it didn't seem to be bothering him.  
  
Then it hit her; Chichiri had protected himself with a magical barrier that fit right up against his body. One could only see it if he was hit by Dart- the sword would bounce off of him, thankfully not mortally wounding her Bishonen. Nor did it seriously wound Dart when the monk Bishonen hit him, say, square in the stomach with his staff. Dart would double over for a moment, gasping for breath.   
  
Flashes of magic and ki lit the room as though someone had released fireworks. Time and again, one of the Bishonen seemed about to lose. Then they would dodge what was to be the other Bishonen's last attack and the fight would continue.  
  
Anya watched, amazed at how fast both men were going. /I guess it's a good thing Chichiri was a wanderer. He walked all the time... now he can keep up with that Dart guy. That's definitely good, or we'd have lost the match a long time ago! /  
  
Pyra, who was on the other side of the battle, was also watching with wide eyes. Her arms dropped to her sides- she had had them crossed over her chest- and Anya could see her tense in anticipation of who would win.  
  
It seemed as though the battle was drawing to a close at long last. While Chichiri was loping around, occasionally pausing to wipe sweat off of his forehead (or check a new bruise), Dart seemed to be having trouble staying up in the air. His first few attacks had been his best; now, they were barely good enough to blast near Chichiri, much less at him.  
  
Finally, Dart was bathed in fire once again. Chichiri stepped back, uncertain as to what was going to happen. But all worries were quelled once Dart reappeared in the armor Anya had seen him in before the match. Now he only had his sword to depend on.  
  
Chichiri saw his best chance at winning the match, and went for it. Instead of using magic, however, he returned to using his staff as his weapon. He lunged in, then did a sweep. Dart went over with an "OOF!" instantly.  
  
And he didn't get up.  
  
"Stop the match!" Pyra called. "We forfeit the match to you!"  
  
From his spot on the floor, Anya could see Dart waving a small handkerchief in surrender. Otherwise, he didn't move.  
  
Anya grinned and danced around in place, saying, "YES! You got 'im, Chiri! Awesome fight!"  
  
The monk Bishonen dropped to one knee, panting for breath. He pulled off his mask to wipe his face with a hand. "Da, that was tough na no da," he breathed.  
  
His trainer rushed over and hugged him. "You did great, Chichiri!"  
  
Chichiri blinked and smiled sheepishly at her. "Thanks. After all, who wouldn't want to be treated to a good dinner at a restaurant after a fight like that, no da?"  
  
She chuckled, and looked over to where Pyra was pulling out a potion of some sort. The trainer held it to Dart's lips, and a moment later the Bishonen was sitting up, groaning.  
  
"SOA! I haven't hurt this bad for weeks..." He grinned. "It feels good."  
  
Pyra hit him on the head for that.   
  
"Your Dart all right?" Anya asked.  
  
"Yeah, he's great. How's Chichiri?"  
  
Anya glanced at Chichiri, who shrugged. "I'm alright no da."  
  
"Cool. That was AWESOME!" Pyra danced around a little, waving her arms. "That was the BEST fight I've had in weeks. Hah, wait until I fight your friends. I will so win, thanks to the experience Dart's getting. And then I still have Albert... heheheh..."  
  
Anya sweat-dropped. "Uh, glad to help..."  
  
"Well, here you go." Pyra reached into her pocket and pulled out some money. She walked over and handed it to Anya. "That should be enough to last you for a month, if not more."  
  
"Really? Thanks!" Anya grinned and shoved it into her own pocket. "That's great!"  
  
"Don't tell me we missed it," said a voice from the door.  
  
Anya turned. "Sano! Kenshin!"  
  
The two Bishonen stood in the doorway, looking vaguely disappointed. Sano in particular looked crushed.  
  
"You mean you DIDN'T ground him into a pulp?" Sano asked Dart.  
  
Anya reached up and hit him on the shoulder, glaring at him. "Be nice, Sanosuke!"  
  
"Whatever," he muttered. "So we won?"  
  
"Yeah." Anya smiled.   
  
"Great, my turn!" Jacky ran into the door with Inuyasha. She grinned at Pyra. "We ready to go for the second turn?"  
  
"But of course!" Pyra said. "Dart, how about you recover more in your Bish-ball? You got one more fight today..."  
  
"Assuming Abby shows up." Jacky sighed. "I hope she's okay."  
  
"I hope whoever she's glomping is okay!" Anya exclaimed.  
  
~*~  
  
"IT'S KURAMA!"  
  
"What on...?!"  
  
"HEY! THAT'S MY BISHONEN!"  
  
"KURAMA-CHAN, YER HAIR IS SO PURDY..."  
  
"AAAAAAH!"  
  
~*~  
  
"Maybe you should go look for her," Jacky suggested.  
  
"What, me?"  
  
"Yes, you, Anya," Jacky answered. "I don't see any other trainers who aren't going to be fighting in a moment, do you?"  
  
"I guess not..." Anya's shoulders slumped in defeat.  
  
"I'll go with you... Anya-dono no da," Chichiri offered.  
  
Anya shook her head. "You crazy? You'll wear yourself out like that. Erm... Hey Sano, mind coming with me?"  
  
Sanosuke shrugged, though there was a hint of smug satisfaction on his face. "The hell not? Now that I missed the most interesting of the battles..."  
  
"Then let's go. Jacky, please keep an eye on Chichiri and Kenshin, okay? And if Heero comes in here..."  
  
"Gotcha. No problem."  
  
"Thanks! Come on, Sano!" With that, Anya ran out of the room with her Sanosuke close behind.   
  
~*~  
  
How will Jacky's battle go? Will Anya find Abby alright? Will Anya find whatever Bishonen Abby's glomped still all right? Find out next time on BISHONEN AND BISHOUJO!  
  
Readers- -_- (smack author upside the head for the stupid announcer thing)  
  
Ow... uh, until next time, please review! 


	18. Chapter Eighteen! Thank you all so much ...

Chapter Eighteen- Battles Continued OR Finding Abby!  
Notes- Wow, thank you all so much! May I say I love you all? (Hands out Bishonen/Bishoujo plushies to all the readers, even those who haven't reviewed) 100 REVIEWS! I feel so loved! ^_^ Domo arigato, minna-san!  
  
A note to one of the reviewers- Yeah, Abby IS an OAV short of a series. ^_^ She wants me to tell you that she acts like that in real life as well.  
  
And a note to Pyra- (puts up hands as though defending herself) Hey, no problem at all about asking to be in the fic as many times as you did. I'm just glad I finally got you in and you like how you're portrayed in here.   
  
~*~  
  
"So you got any ideas where to find that friend of yours?" Sanosuke asked. He had his hands behind his head, looking up at the sky as he and his trainer walked down the sidewalk.  
  
"No clue. I could have sworn she was in there with me and Jacky..." Anya sighed. "Who knows... my only thought is that she can't have gone too far. We were only battling for about ten to fifteen minutes. You can only go a mile at the most at that, right?"  
  
"Unless you're a natural sprinter," Sano agreed. "And none of you girls are fit enough to be that."  
  
"...I'll let that comment slide this time," Anya said.  
  
"What'd I say?"  
  
Anya gave him a look. "Just shut up for a while, mmkay?"  
  
Sano smirked, but complied.  
  
The two continued down the street for a while, without any clues as to where Abby disappeared to. After a few minutes, however, Anya paused in front of a two-story building.  
  
Her first Bishonen stopped as well. "What is it? You find her?" he asked.  
  
"Nah." Anya waved at the building. "Look at this! It's a repair shop for trainer's equipment. I can drop my Bish-dex off here while we look for Abby."  
  
"Oh yeah. Maybe it didn't register Chichiri 'cause it doesn't like him," Sano remarked.  
  
"I don't get why you're so against 'Chiri, Sano." Anya turned to frown at him. "What did he do, besides make a couple of mistakes anyone could have? I'll bet you weren't perfect when you first evolved either."  
  
"I didn't put my trainer's life in jeopardy, did I?"  
  
"You weren't captured then, were you?" she asked back.  
  
He frowned. "That's not the point." He pointed at her. "You're my trainer, and I'm supposed to make sure you don't get your head pounded into the ground. Now how the hell am I supposed to do that when I'm locked up in one room and you're in another, all because that baka decided to try flying his stupid HAT around and get us lost?!"  
  
Anya blinked. "I didn't realize you were that worried about me."  
  
Sano huffed and crossed his arms, looking away. "Yeah, well, you're the one with the money, and I don't feel like snitchin' my food from anyone."  
  
His trainer gave him a small smile. "Right. Look, Sanosuke. I know you don't like Chichiri. I guess I can understand what you're saying, but like I've said before, he's not a bad guy."  
  
The Bishonen shrugged. "Fine. Whatever. Are you getting your Dex thing checked out or what?"  
  
Anya nodded, and turned to walk into the building.  
  
~*~  
  
A few moments later, she walked back out, sans Bish-dex. Sanosuke was clutching at her arm with a panicked expression on his face, however. Anya's arms were crossed, and she was rolling her eyes.  
  
"You know, Sanosuke, that machines are generally immobile unless a human controls them? The Dexes aren't going to jump at you and eat you."  
  
"Don't give a damn, those things are just not RIGHT," he muttered into her arm.   
  
"Will you stop that?" she asked, shaking her arm slightly. He didn't budge. "Great. I have an insane friend out there glomping onto poor Bishonen, and I have a Bishonen who's glomping onto poor me."  
  
"Shut up," came Sano's voice.  
  
She tried shaking her arm again, but again found that the Bishonen was clamped onto her. Anya sighed. "Sanosuke, you really need to get over your fear of machines."  
  
"I'll do that when your newest Bishonen gets over his fear of balls."  
  
Anya snickered at that.  
  
"Hentai," he accused.  
  
"What? You made it sound so wrong."  
  
"I did not. You have a dirty mind."  
  
"I do not! Get off my arm already, it's losing circulation."  
  
"I'll do that when we get away from that creepy store."  
  
Anya shook her head at him. "Sanosuke, we're a block away from the scary store."  
  
"...Oh." Sano immediately let go of her arm. "Well, whatever..." He shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.  
  
His trainer, meanwhile, was attempting to get the blood pumping into her arm again. After rotating it a few times, she decided to leave it alone. While still walking, she turned her head to look back at Sano, who had stopped for the moment. He was pretending to look interested about a nearby weapons store. "Sano, are you going to come with me or do you want to go back- OW!"  
  
"ITAI!" answered another voice.  
  
Anya almost fell to the ground from the collision, but Sano caught her and helped her up before she hit the sidewalk. "Whoa... sorry about that," she apologized, looking up at the person she'd run into.  
  
"No problem. I was hurrying, and my mind was on other things," the guy answered with an understanding smile.   
  
The Bishonen trainer got to her feet and studied the man for a moment; he was a couple years older than her. Back in the real world, he probably would have been in college or something. His eyes were a startling emerald green that looked like they could pierce if he was mad, but right now they were mild and amused. His hair was a stark contrast to those eyes; a rich black.   
  
"I wasn't looking, though," she said.  
  
Sanosuke rolled his eyes. "Are you going to keep apologizing to this guy for, oh, another hour or so Anya? Cause if you are I can go look for your friend and you can just wait here for me."  
  
"Oh can it, Sano." Anya said, but with a small smile.   
  
"You're looking for someone?" the man asked.  
  
"Yeah, she's got dyed blue hair. Have you seen her? She's usually glomped onto Bishonen that aren't hers."  
  
The man sweat-dropped. "Sorry, can't say I have. While we're on the subject of finding people, have you perchance seen a redhead around here? She's got a Yami Yugi with her. They were going shopping or something, and we were going to meet for lunch."  
  
"No, sorry I can't help you," Anya said.   
  
"Anya, are we planning on getting back to the gym in the next century or so?" Sanosuke asked impatiently.  
  
Anya nudged him with her elbow.   
  
The man chuckled. "I can see your Bishonen's impatient. Oh, at the gym were you? I heard those give some pretty good competition."  
  
"They do," Anya said. "I won, though," she added happily.  
  
"Oh did you? Congrats. I heard the trainer at the gym right now is tough," the man remarked. He ran a hand through his hair and glanced away for a moment, as though something caught his eye.  
  
"She was, but my Bishonen did it," she said.  
  
"I'm glad for you. Say... should you ever need any really tough challenges, why don't you look me and my friends up?" he suggested. "We're a... group of top trainers, you might say an elite of sorts. If you win a number of gym challenges, you can get in with a battle against one of us."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yep. Just check into a local bar or something when you've beaten four or so gym challenges. We're everywhere."  
  
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. But wait, what's your elite group called?"  
  
The man laughed. "Oh, it doesn't really have a name, it's just a group that formed a while back. We're all really into the competition of battling, and our Bishonen are too. Though we like to hang out together too- we look for people who are actually close with their Bishonen as well. But if you ever get interested... just ask around for Logan or Bryanna."  
  
"Logan? ...That's your name, I take it?"  
  
He nodded. "And Bryanna's the friend I'm looking for."  
  
"Well, alright. Thanks a lot!" Anya grinned. "It'd be kind of cool to belong to a group of elites... Come on, Sanosuke, let's go find Abby-"   
  
She stopped when she saw Sano leaning against a store window, snoring loudly. Anya sweat-dropped, and hit him on the head.  
  
"ITAI!" Sano fell over.  
  
"Come on, Sanosuke, we're going. Thanks again, Logan!" Anya waved and started to drag her Bishonen away.  
  
Logan watched the two go, then chuckled and shook his head. "Those two..." Then his amused expression faded. "I suppose I have to check in with a couple friends and see if they'll be good enough for what we're looking for." He sighed. "I kind of feel bad about it, she seems nice enough. But if we're going to get the halflings out of everyone's hair AND get some decent challenges, this is the only way... I better get going..." He turned and went his own way down the street.  
  
~*~  
  
Jacky smiled at Pyra as the other trainer pulled out another Bishonen Ball. "That fire guy was pretty cool," she remarked.  
  
"Thanks. Have you ever played Legend of Dragoon?"  
  
"Can't say I have, but the characters seem nice enough..."  
  
Pyra laughed. "Yeah. Wait till you see Albert, though, he's even cooler. In my opinion, of course... Speaking of which, come on out! ALBERT!"  
  
A flash of light later, Jacky was staring at the newly appeared Bishonen. "Whoa," she murmured.  
  
The Bishonen had long hair tied back in a loose ponytail, and hazel eyes. The very way he stood showed that he was a noble or even royalty. He wore mostly shades of green for clothing, though he had dark leggings and boots. In one hand the Bishonen carried a spear.  
  
He gave Jacky a somewhat nervous smile and turned back towards Pyra. "I'm assuming we're battling?" he asked.  
  
"Yup. You ready?" Pyra asked.  
  
"Of course. I give full consent to fight for my trainer- er, where is your Bishonen, miss?" Albert nodded politely towards Jacky.  
  
"Huh? Oh! Inuyasha?" she looked around. Then she hung her head. "Hang on a moment, please..." She ran off.  
  
Pyra and her Bishonen sweat-dropped when Jacky returned a moment later. She was dragging Inuyasha by the collar on his robe, and there was a huge bump on his head. His left hand was loosely holding onto his sword.  
  
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Jacky called. "We're ready now. Aren't we, Inu-chan?"  
  
"Don't call me that," he muttered. He got up and rubbed his head. "Damn, woman. You need to learn restraint," he complained. "I can't fight if I have a concussion, didn't anyone tell you that?"  
  
"Oh, please. I didn't give you a concussion, that was barely a tap," Jacky retorted. "Now do you consent to fight this guy or not?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I give consent and all that ****-"  
  
Inuyasha soon had another bump on his head.   
  
"Watch your language in front of Chibis, Inu-chan!" Jacky said, pointing at Chibi Kenshin. He was leaning against a nearby wall with Chichiri, who'd taken his mask off. Both Bishonen looked up at the mention of Chibis, but soon returned to their conversation.  
  
"Jeez, woman," Inuyasha said, glaring. "This is the last time I fight for YOU."  
  
"Like I haven't heard that before. Let's get going, shall we?"  
  
Inuyasha sweat-dropped. "Like I could. I can't use this damn thing properly unless I'm protecting a human, remember?" he asked, shaking his sword at Jacky.  
  
She didn't look very impressed. "You're protecting MY reputation and MY money."  
  
"What reputation?" he murmured. Fortunately, his trainer didn't hear. He sighed and went into battle stance. "Alright, fine. We gonna fight or stand here all day?" he asked Albert.  
  
"LET'S GET IT-" Duo began.  
  
"Oh, shut up," Inuyasha told him, and lunged at Albert.  
  
~*~  
  
"IILLPALLAZO-SAMA! HAAAAAIL, IILLAPALLAZO-SAMAAAA!"  
  
"Ugh... "  
  
Anya perked up when she heard someone screaming those words. "I think we've found Abby, Sano," she said, turning to talk to her Bishonen.  
  
She blinked- Sano was nowhere to be found. "Sanosuke? Where'd you go...?"  
  
Then she -_-ed and looked up at the nearest tree to see that her guess was correct. Sanosuke was perched on one of the higher branches in the tree, trying to meld in with the leaves and such. Considering he was wearing his usual white outfit and red headband, it wasn't working very well.  
  
The trainer sighed, walked over to the tree, and kicked the trunk. It shook. "Get down from there. I'm going to need help getting Abby off of whoever she's latched onto at the moment."  
  
"HELP! HELP! SOME CRAZY GIRL'S STRANGLING MY BISHONEN!"  
  
"There's no way you'll get ME to help YOU get that GIRL off of that BISHONEN!" Sano declared.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Anya started up the tree.  
  
Sano blinked. "I didn't know you could climb trees," was all he could think of to say.  
  
"Thanks." She grabbed onto his ear before he could do anything and gave it a sharp tug.  
  
"ITAI! DAMMIT, ANYA-"  
  
"Shut up." She tugged on his ear harder. "You come down and help me or you lose your ear."  
  
"YAAH! WILL YOU STOP THAT?!" Sano yelled. His hands latched onto her wrist and he began trying to find how to pull her off without doing damage to his poor ear.   
  
He didn't make any progress.   
  
Anya tugged on his ear again. "Move or I pull you down by your ear."  
  
"You wouldn't dare, Missie- ITAI! FINE! LEAVE MY DAMN EAR ALONE!" Sano demanded.  
  
His trainer grinned and let go of his ear, which he began to rub. She then turned and started on her way back down the tree. Grumbling, Sanosuke followed her.  
  
The two found that some other trainers and their Bishies had surrounded the tree, watching them curiously. Anya sweat-dropped and waved her arms.  
  
"Okay, okay folks, nothing to see here. Sano, come on, let's go find Abby. I hope she's still on that poor Bishonen so we can catch up to her..."  
  
Trainer and Bishonen found that indeed, Abby was still nearby and still locked onto a Bishonen that had very long hair and odd armor. He also had glasses. Anya figured he would normally make a rather regal image.   
  
Of course, considering that Abby was glomping him, this wasn't one of those normal times.  
  
"ABBY!" Anya yelled at her.  
  
"Hi, Anya," Abby said cheerfully. "Look at who I found!"  
  
Anya sweat-dropped. "Yes, very nice. Erm... want to let him go now?"  
  
"Are you kidding?! How often do you get the chance to glomp your FAVORITE BISHIES OF ALL TIME!?"  
  
"Very often in this world," Anya reminded her. "Besides, he's not yours technically. His trainer's over there." She gestured to a girl who was staring at them with teary eyes.   
  
"But-"  
  
"Get off."  
  
"No-"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"NO!"  
  
"YES!"  
  
"NO!"  
  
"NO!" Anya yelled.  
  
"YES!" Abby hollered back.  
  
"You said yes, now get off," Anya said.  
  
Abby was about to yell again, then paused. "I said what?" she asked, in a small voice. "But I don't want to get off..."  
  
Anya hung her head. "Why do I get stuck with such strange, strange people?" she muttered to no one in particular. Then she lifted her head up and grabbed Sano by the arm. "Sano, this is where you come in."  
  
"Huh? What?! NO! AAAH!"  
  
His trainer threw him by that arm at Abby and the Bishonen. Startled by her sudden move, Sano stumbled forward and landed on top of the new trainer.  
  
"OOF! Hey! What's the big- Sano-chan!" Abby's eyes got big. "You came out looking for me? You're so nice!" She paused hugging the other Bishonen for a moment so she could glomp Sanosuke.  
  
Anya took that precious three seconds to grab the Bishonen out from under Abby and shove him towards his trainer. "Quick," she ordered, "or you may never escape from her."  
  
The Bishonen nodded, attempting to regain what dignity he had had. Then he looked back at Abby, paled, and forgot all about dignity and the like- he ran to his trainer and disappeared in his Bish-ball within instants.  
  
Abby, meanwhile, had let go of Sano to return to her Bishonen glomping. Her eyebrow twitched dangerously when she found that she was missing said Bishonen. "What happened to him?! WHERE IS IILPALLAZO-SAMA!" she yelled.  
  
Sanosuke crawled away from her, gasping for breath. "This is...last... damn... time I ever... do you a favor, Missie," he said.  
  
His trainer patted him on the shoulder sympathetically before grabbing Abby by the arm and hauling her to her feet. "Gym. Now."  
  
"WHERE IS-"  
  
"Gym, NOW. Or we'll tie you up in Jacky's room and you won't be able to go on Bishonen glomping sprees any more."  
  
Abby hung her head. "Okay, okay... fine. We'll go back to the stinking gym," she muttered. Then she looked up hopefully. "Can I at least glomp your Sano?"  
  
"..." Anya considered this for a moment.  
  
"HELL NO!" Sanosuke hollered, and ran down the street back towards the gym.  
  
Anya laughed, while Abby sighed. Then the two trainers followed him.  
  
~*~  
  
The battle was taking a surprisingly long time. Though Inuyasha was not really a magical Bishonen, he was holding his own with his sword. Albert was using his powers to the maximum, casting wind spells to lower damage caused by Inuyasha.  
  
Jacky watched anxiously. She would have been calling out encouragement, but her Bishonen hated it when she did it. He said it caught him off guard, and got him off balance. And then he could lose the match. Therefore, she remained silent.   
  
/Come on, Inu-chan, / she thought, bringing up a hand to her heart. /You can do it, I know you can. /  
  
The Duo, who had been put off by Inuyasha's rude comment to shut up earlier, was doing everything he could to annoy his fellow Bishonen. Thus, unlike Jacky, he was screaming his head off at the two fighters. "Come on, Albert!" he yelled. "Honestly, Inu-CHAN, you fight like a GIRL! A HUMAN GIRL! You hear me?! You are SO gonna lose this match! Come on, Albert, kick his butt!"  
  
/That's not good. If Duo keeps doing that, he may end up getting strangled by Inu-chan before I can stop him, / Jacky thought worriedly.   
  
Thankfully, no one else was participating in the cheering. The other trainer, Pyra, was watching with the same anxious expression on her face as Jacky had. Her hands were clasped together in front of her face as she waited, watching her Bishonen.  
  
Then, in a flash, it was over.  
  
Inuyasha had apparently tried to jump up high enough to come down on top of Albert and finish him off. However, Albert had followed his moves and summoned the last of his strength to cast another spell. It was a spell that threw Inuyasha into a nearby wall strongly enough to knock the wind out of him. The sword fell from the Bishonen's numb hand, clattering on the ground.  
  
"Inu-chan!" Jacky yelped. "Alright, alright, stop the match!"  
  
Pyra did a little dance, and Albert sank to the ground in relief. "Yatta! Yatta, Albert!" she declared. "You were awesome!"  
  
The Bishonen smiled at his trainer. "Thanks, Pyra. It was a good workout..." He changed out of his magical armor and collapsed on the ground, sitting cross-legged.  
  
Jacky ran over to her Bishonen and knelt by his side. "Are you all right, Inu-chan?" she asked.  
  
"...Ugh... don't call me that," he muttered.   
  
She grinned- he was fine. "Come on, let's get you up." She took hold of his arm and helped him up. Then she had him lean against her so she could take his weight and help him walk away from the now-dented wall. Inuyasha mumbled to himself, but didn't seem to have any objections to this arrangement.  
  
Chichiri, who seemed to have recovered from his match, got up and came over with Chibi Kenshin in tow. Heero, who had appeared from the other part of the gym sometime during the match, also wandered over.  
  
"I can heal him if you want, no da," Chichiri offered.  
  
"That would be great, Chichiri! Thanks," Jacky replied with a smile.  
  
The Bishonen nodded with a grin and lifted his hand to his face. He frowned slightly in concentration.  
  
Jacky gasped as the cuts and bruises on Inuyasha disappeared. Then she let go of her Bishonen to clap. "That was awesome! Thanks a bunch, Chichiri!"  
  
"Ow..."  
  
She glanced down to see that Inuyasha had fallen face first onto the ground. "Inu-chan?"  
  
"Gomen, but I only healed him," Chichiri explained. "I'm still too drained to actually give someone else what Ki I have, na no da."  
  
"That's alright," Jacky assured him.   
  
Inuyasha twitched.  
  
"Jacky! Pyra!"  
  
The two trainers looked up, and Jacky grinned. "Anya! Sanosuke! You found Abby!" she said with a smile.  
  
"Yeah, latched onto another Bishonen," Anya said, sighing. "What a surprise, huh?"  
  
"Oh, yeah," Jacky joked.  
  
"It wasn't just ANOTHER Bishonen, it was IILPALLAZO-SAMAAAA!" Abby announced.  
  
Everyone present sweat-dropped, except for Chibi Kenshin. He merely blinked at the trainer.  
  
"You're the other trainer that was gonna fight me, right?" Pyra asked her.  
  
Abby turned and gave her a victory sign. "If you're the one we're all challenging, yes!" she replied.  
  
"Great! I think Dart's had a good rest up, so why don't you call out whoever you're going to use?" Pyra suggested. "Let's get this match over with quickly."  
  
"Mmkay!" Abby pulled out her Bish-ball, grinning.  
  
While this was happening, Anya had reached her Bishonen. She smiled at Chichiri. "You look like you've recovered."  
  
He grinned back and nodded. "Yeah, amazing what a small rest does for you after a tough battle na no da," he replied.  
  
"Well, remember that since we won I get to buy a great lunch for us all," Anya announced. "Speaking of which, Jacky, how'd you do?"  
  
Jacky turned towards her with teary eyes. "I loooost..."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry," Anya said. "Hey, I should still have enough to get us by. And Abby may win too. Ya never know."   
  
"True."   
  
Chichiri tapped Anya on the shoulder, and she turned around. "What sort of restaurant are we going to?" he asked.  
  
She shrugged. "I'm not sure."  
  
Suddenly, the Bishonen turned SD and latched onto her around the waist. Anya, startled, promptly fell over.  
  
"Ack! Chichiri, what're you-"  
  
"Can we go to the Crescent Inn? Onegai? Onegai, no da?!" he asked, looking up at her imploringly.  
  
"I'm guessing that's a really good restaurant," Jacky said, sweat-dropping.  
  
"I wouldn't know, never heard of it," Anya replied.  
  
"It's got really, really, really great food and I love it and can we go onegai, onegai na no daaaaa?" SD Chichiri begged.  
  
Anya laughed and rested her hand on the Bishonen's head for a moment. "Okay, okay, we can go there if we can find one. But we have to wait until Abby's done with her match, mmkay?"  
  
"WAI! Arigato Anya-dono no da!" SD Chichiri hugged her more tightly for good measure.  
  
Sanosuke, who'd been watching this whole thing, growled and clenched his fists. Then he walked over and pulled the other Bishonen off of their trainer by his cloak.  
  
"AH! Itai, no da!" Chichiri protested, returning to normal.  
  
Sano fell over from the sudden weight he was holding in one hand. "AAH!"  
  
The two ended up in a tangled heap. Then Sanosuke started to beat on Chichiri.  
  
"You baka, don't DO that when someone's holding onto you!"  
  
"AH! Stop that, no da!" Chichiri pulled his staff out of nowhere and began hitting him back.  
  
"OW! Dammit, that hurt!"  
  
"Not any more than you're hurting me! Stop it, na no da!"  
  
"Boys, boys!" Jacky called.   
  
"Come on, guys, can't you be a LITTLE mature?" Anya asked, sighing. She walked over and pulled Chichiri off of Sanosuke. Chichiri returned to SD with a sheepish expression on his face.   
  
Sanosuke sat up rubbing his head and muttering.   
  
The group then heard someone laughing, and turned to see Pyra and Abby were watching them. Pyra was the one laughing.  
  
"Gods, you guys are the funniest ever to watch!" she said, wiping an eye. "If I didn't already have enough mayhem with my Bishonen, I'd ask to join you on your travels!"  
  
"Hey, I don't cause mayhem!" Duo protested. "Tell her, Hee-chan! Did I EVER cause mayhem?"  
  
Heero decided to ignore him.  
  
"Alright, so are you ready?" Pyra asked Abby.  
  
Abby nodded. "Come on out... VALGAAV!"  
  
~*~  
  
Yay, next chapter done! Happiness! (Does a little dance) I hope you all enjoyed this. (Hides behind her Muse and Chichiri so she won't be hit by random objects due to the cliffhanger) Gomen, but you'll have to wait to see what happens. Heh. (Ducks some particularly sharp objects)  
  
Chichiri- (gets hit by a soccer ball and falls over) Daa...  
  
Chichiri! Well, first I gotta tell you stuff...  
  
Iilpallazo (am I spelling his name right?) is from Excel Saga. He's Excel's boss, the head of ACROSS, an organization bent on conquering the world. They're not doing a very good job of it, either. ^^v   
  
Oh! In case you wanted to know, I just got started on the Dragon Knights manga! So if anyone wants to have anyone from there and you want to be a trainer in my fic (and I haven't already put you in), please let me know!  
  
One last note- the restaurant I put in here that Chichiri's obsessed with is completely made up. If there actually IS a restaurant called that, then I assure you it's complete coincidence and that I don't own it.  
  
Thanks again, everyone! Until next time! (Waves, then pokes at Chichiri to see if he's alright) 


	19. Chapter Nineteen! Thanks for being patie...

Chapter Nineteen- The Last Battle OR FOOD FIGHT!  
  
Notes- I'm so sorry for taking so long, everyone. I hope you'll forgive me and enjoy this chapter. (Bows and offers pizza-sized chocolate chip cookies to everyone) Better? ^^  
  
Everyone please welcome another two new trainers! Hope you like how I portray you. Who is it, you ask? Sore wa himitsu desu! (Gets attacked with sharp objects by every Slayers fan in the world) Ack! Okay, I couldn't help it! Just go and read already!  
  
~*~  
  
Abby pulled out her Bish-ball and grinned, tossing it. "Come on out... VALGAAV!"  
  
In a flash of light, the green-haired Bishonen appeared with his wings spread behind him. He looked around, blinking in surprise for a moment. Apparently he'd been in the Bish-ball long enough to forget what was going on.  
  
Pyra, meanwhile, was openly staring at him. "Sugoi..."  
  
"And he's MINE!" Abby glomped onto the Bishonen, grinning.  
  
"Nani? ACK! Get off of me!" Valgaav pulled a crowbar out of nowhere and began to use it on Abby. However, it had very little effect. He threw the crowbar away in disgust, and tried to think of another tactic.  
  
The other trainers sweat-dropped at this. Then...  
  
"ITAI..."  
  
Everyone turned to see that Duo had been hit square on the head with the crowbar and was currently lying unconscious on the ground, @_@ing.  
  
Jacky ran over to check on the Bishonen while the rest of the group turned back to where Valgaav was starting to look a little blue. Pyra shook her head, sighing. Then she crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "Say, Abby, are you planning on battling with that guy or not? You know he can't fight if you're hanging on him like that!"  
  
"Aw... right..." Abby reluctantly let go. Valgaav took a few steps away from his trainer, watching her suspiciously before turning his attention to the other human. Then her eyes became sparkly. "Isn't he sugoi?! I love his wings, his purdy black wings and did you know they're really, really soft? And they're so puurrdy..."  
  
"Ano... right. Um, should we begin, or wait for your Bishonen to regain his breath?" Pyra asked.  
  
"I'm ready whenever the hell we're going!" Valgaav growled. "I give full consent to fight! Bring it on!"  
  
Anya blinked. /He sounds pissed. I guess being in the Bish-ball almost constantly can wear on even the best Bishonen's nerves, after a while. Good thing I usually keep everyone out./  
  
"Okay, DART! Come back out!" Pyra commanded.  
  
There was yet another flash of light as the blonde Bishonen from before appeared again. He blinked, looked around, and spotted Valgaav. His surprised expression became an eager grin. "Wow, a Dragon Bishonen!"  
  
Valgaav snorted. "Whatever."  
  
"He's part demon too!" Pyra told her Bishonen.  
  
"So I can just sing happy songs?" Dart asked.  
  
"No, that'd be cheating," Pyra told him. "And it'd end a perfectly good match way too soon."  
  
Dart sighed. "Oh, all right. Let's get started, Valgaav."  
  
"I was wondering when you'd say that."  
  
The two prepared for their first attacks. Valgaav began to mutter a spell, while Dart transformed into his Dragoon armor in a flash of fire.  
  
Both Bishonen then leapt at each other, shouting their respective attacks.  
  
"FIRE BALL!"  
  
"VOLCANO!"   
  
Abby leaned against a nearby wall, watching with interest as her Bishonen and Dart faced off in a clash of magic and flight maneuvers that were hard to see with the normal human eye. "They sure can move," she commented.  
  
Anya, who was also watching, nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. "It's amazing how fast you can go, sometimes..." She winced as Valgaav hit Dart fairly hard with an elbow strike to the gut. "That's gotta hurt..."  
  
"But Valgaav is winning!" Abby said happily, clapping her hands together and ^_^ing.  
  
The other trainer sweat-dropped. /And here I thought she was going to be sane for a while,/ she thought. /Oh, well./  
  
"Ano, excuse me?" came a voice from the door.  
  
Everyone except for the two battling Bishonen glanced over to see another Bishonen standing in the doorway. He had short, dark hair that stuck up with a lock of white on one side. His ears were slightly pointed, and his sword...  
  
"Oh my God!" Abby said. "It's a Rath!"  
  
Anya grabbed onto her friend's collar to keep her from running over and glomping onto the confused-looking Bishonen. "What's up?" she asked politely.  
  
"I just wanna know if you guys can tell me where the bathroom is," he said.  
  
"Down the hallway to the left, that they are," Chibi Kenshin piped up.  
  
Rath grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "Hey, thanks!" His eyes went to the battle. "Hey, a fight eh? Who's winning?"  
  
"Hard to tell, they just started a few minutes ago," Anya explained.   
  
"Cool." The Bishonen leaned against the doorway for a moment, watching the two blurs interestedly.  
  
The two fighters paused for breath, hovering a few feet away from each other. While Valgaav still seemed more or less intact, Dart was already beginning to look beat up.  
  
"He... hey... that's...!"  
  
Anya looked over to see that the Rath Bishonen was staring at Valgaav, drooling. He wiped his mouth after a moment, and pulled out his sword, grinning maniacally.  
  
"That's a DEMON!"  
  
Valgaav turned at the word "demon" to see who was talking. His eyes widened, then narrowed to slits. "Oh ****-"  
  
"DEMON DEMON DEMON!" Rath shouted. "Your ass is mine!" He leaped towards the other Bishonen.  
  
A frying pan appeared and hit Rath in the face.  
  
"...Itai..." he mumbled before passing out on the floor, unconscious.  
  
Anya blinked at the Bishonen's sudden fall and looked at Abby. Then she sweat-dropped again. The other trainer was holding the frying pan in question, glaring angrily at Rath.  
  
"You do NOT attack my Val-chan!" she declared. "Do so and you shall DIE."  
  
Chichiri crept over near Anya and began to tug on her sleeve.  
  
"What is it?" she asked, looking at him.  
  
"It's not safe for you to be so close to such a... er... loud person, no da," Chichiri said. "I suggest you come back over with us and watch the match from there, na no da." He glanced nervously at said loud person.  
  
Anya smiled. "I'm perfectly safe as long as I don't dream of touching her Bishonen, 'Chiri. It's you guys that aren't safe. You get back over there or you might lose your oxygen. I've heard that's usually not a good thing after a tough workout. I gotta stay here and make sure she doesn't cause any more mayhem than possible."  
  
He sighed. "Alright, no da," he said, and crept back the way he came.  
  
Sanosuke glared at him and came over to Anya. "What'd he say to you?" he asked.  
  
"He wanted me to come over there with you guys," Anya replied, stretching her arms over her head for a moment.   
  
"And you told him no?" Sano couldn't keep the smug tone out of his voice.  
  
"Obviously, or I would have gone over with him. Don't look so happy, Sanosuke. You'd better get back there too so you won't get glomped by our friend."  
  
"OUR friend? You mean YOUR insane friend!" he retorted.  
  
"However you want to put it," she said with a sigh.  
  
Sanosuke ran a hand through his hair. "Nah, I'll stay over here. Different view of the fight an' all," he muttered. Then he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.  
  
Inuyasha, meanwhile, was busy complaining about how bored he was. "I don't give a damn who's fighting who, if I'm not the one kicking butt!" he said aloud to anyone who would listen (which was basically no one but Jacky).   
  
Jacky sighed. "Inu-chan, sometimes you can be a real pain, you know that?"  
  
"Only sometimes? Then I ain't doing my job, am I?" he asked.  
  
She ran a hand through her hair. "Watch it, Inu-chan. I'm willing to be nice 'cause you just lost your fight, but-"  
  
"Ha! She cheated somehow!" Inuyasha declared.  
  
"She did NOT."  
  
Inuyasha huffed and crossed his arms. "You'd believe another trainer over me? That's sad."  
  
"Inu-chan, it isn't a matter of believing, it's a fact. She did NOT cheat."  
  
"She did too. And don't call me that."  
  
Jacky rubbed her forehead. "Why me?"  
  
The fight took a pretty long while. However, since Dart had already been in a battle and Valgaav was fresh, it was only a matter of time before the Dragoon hit the ground and couldn't get up.  
  
Valgaav hovered over the blonde with a smug smile of satisfaction on his face. He ran a hand through his hair and snorted. "What a waste of time."  
  
"Uh... Valgaav wins," Anya called.  
  
Pyra sighed. "I shoulda seen that coming. I haven't trained so much with Dart... go figure..." She got up from leaning against the wall and ran over to help her Bishonen up. "You alright?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," Dart muttered.  
  
"Be grateful this was only a Bishonen trainer battle," Valgaav said.  
  
Dart gave him a dirty look, muttering something else, and limped away from the arena with Dart on her shoulder. Then after a moment, she came back. "Here, this is your reward for beating me," Pyra said, offering the money to Abby.  
  
Anya gave her friend a thumbs up. "Whoo hoo! Great job!"  
  
"Yeah, really!" Jacky agreed.  
  
"We're gonna eat well tonight!" Sano cheered.  
  
Pyra smiled. "It was great battling you all. I hope we meet again sometime."  
  
"Sure we will!" Anya said. She grinned. "Next time we'll be the gym challenges and you'll be our challenger!"  
  
"That'd be cool," Pyra agreed. "Until then, I guess..." She gave a little wave, then turned away and went back towards her Dart.  
  
Anya grinned and shrugged. "Well, that's that- EEK!"   
  
The trainer suddenly found herself being dragged away from the arena by both Chichiri and Sano, with Heero and Kenshin nearby.   
  
"What on-?! Guys, what are you doing?" she demanded.  
  
"Food, now," Sano stated.  
  
"No da," Chichiri added.  
  
"Yeah, what they said," Kenshin said.  
  
"Guys, we gotta wait for the others..." Anya sweat-dropped as Jacky and Abby immediately followed suit with their Bishonen. "Never mind. Me an' my big mouth..."  
  
"To the Crescent Inn, no da!" Chichiri announced.  
  
"YEAH!"  
  
Pyra watched the little parade of trainers and Bishonen march out, then shook her head with a chuckle. "Some people," was all she said before attending to her Bishonen.  
  
~*~  
  
To everyone's surprise, they managed to find a Crescent Inn restaurant only a few blocks away. Chichiri, of course, was delighted, and proceeded to tell everyone exactly what they should order on the menu.  
  
Anya sweat-dropped. "I assume you've been here before, many times?"   
  
"Yep! Oh, and ya GOTTA try this, Anya-dono no da, this one's great no da," Chichiri said, pointing to something else on the menu. "And Sano, you'd love this one..."  
  
"Oi," Jacky said, rolling her eyes. "I think your Bishonen is obsessed, Anya."  
  
"Me too, actually..." Anya awkwardly patted Chichiri on the arm and pulled the menu away from him. "Chichiri, can you take a few deep breaths for me? We're here already. Calm down, will you?"  
  
"Yeah, really," Sano grumbled. "Let's just order and get the damned food, I'm hungry!"  
  
"I agree, that I do," Kenshin said. He gave his fellow Bishonen and the trainers a cheerful smile.   
  
"Well... I have to, too," Anya said. "Alright... waiter!"  
  
The group quickly made their orders and sat around just talking. Abby had kept her Valgaav out, insisting he deserved the Food of Champions (or something along those lines). Seeing as Valgaav's stomach was loudly growling for everyone else to hear, no one sought to disagree with the trainer or her Bishonen.  
  
Twenty minutes later, everyone was diving into their own orders eagerly.   
  
"Mm! You were right about this place, 'Chiri! This is almost... well, heavenly!" Anya declared.  
  
"Daaa," Chichiri just sighed with pleasure and continued to stuff his own face.  
  
"It sure as hell ain't bad!" Sano mumbled in agreement.  
  
"Yeah," Inuyasha added, with his mouth full.  
  
Jacky hit him on the head. "Don't talk wit' yer mouth full," she said (with her own mouth full of food).  
  
"Practice what you preach, woman."  
  
"Guys, calm down!"  
  
"Ne, Jacky?" Anya said suddenly.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Where's your Miroku? Did you put him back into his Bish-ball or something?"  
  
"No, I didn't..."  
  
Both trainers shared an exasperated look. Then they began to count down. "3, 2, 1..."  
  
"YOU PERVERT!" BAM!  
  
Miroku came sprawling into the table. Expecting this, Jacky and Anya both picked up their plates, saving their food. Chichiri also managed to save his and Kenshin's, and Valgaav had been holding his anyway. However, Inuyasha, Shippou, Sano, and Abby lost their food. The Bishonen and trainer stared at the table with teary eyes, then glared at Miroku.  
  
The monk rubbed his head. "Ah, women are so hard to get these days," he complained. "And they think every little thing I say is perverted! Can you believe that?"  
  
Jacky sighed and pulled him off of the table, helping him brush off some of the food. "No, not one bit," she drawled.  
  
"You're making fun of me," he accused.  
  
"No I'm not."  
  
"Yes you are!"  
  
"Can you argue somewhere else, guys?" Anya asked politely.  
  
"We're eating, go away," Valgaav cut in.  
  
Jacky's eye twitched. "What did you say, Valgaav?"  
  
Abby stood up. "Are you threatening my Vallie-poo?"   
  
Everyone paused, then sweat-dropped. "Vallie-poo?" Jacky asked.  
  
Inuyasha and Sano blinked, then burst out laughing, pointing at the fuming Valgaav. Chichiri, meanwhile, held the Slayers character in a nelson so he couldn't kill the two Bishonen. The rest of the group sighed and returned to salvaging/eating their meals.  
  
Then...  
  
BAM!  
  
"OW! DAMN IT!"  
  
Everyone yelped, and the teary eyes returned; someone else had been thrown into their table, and this time everyone had lost their food.   
  
"My... food..." Abby wailed.  
  
"It's... gone.. no da..." Chichiri stared blankly at the table, then turned to glare at the person who'd been thrown onto the table.  
  
Heero whipped out his gun, saw who it was, then sighed and just pulled out his laptop to pass the time until things were calmed down somewhat.  
  
Anya merely blinked.  
  
A VERY pissed Yusuke pushed himself off of the table, growling as he did so. "What on earth was THAT for, Ferio?" he demanded. "Or do you just have something against people who get second chances, UNLIKE YOU?"  
  
A pitcher of coke flew through the air and hit Yusuke right in the head, sending him back onto the table. Anya's group cried out in dismay; now their meals were completely ruined. "UNLIKE YOU, Yusuke, I have some semblance of MANNERS. You don't make fun of our trainer's clothes like that!"  
  
Yusuke grabbed Sano's plate of food and threw it in the direction the pitcher came from, and Sano yelled out in protest. "Ever heard of freedom of speech, you idiot?"  
  
"As long as you don't hurt others!" came the reply, this time with a pie. Yusuke went crashing back into the table.  
  
"Ferio, stop it!" pleaded another voice. "Can't we all get along?"  
  
"Will you just shut it, Quatre?" Yusuke hollered, picking up another plate and readying to throw it.  
  
An audible sniff was his answer.  
  
Anya's eye twitched. "That is IT."   
  
"An... Anya-dono no da?" Chichiri asked uncertainly as his trainer stood.  
  
"Stay back, 'Chiri." She reached out, grabbing the Yusuke by the ear.  
  
"OW! ITAI! STOP IT!" he yelled. "I'm being hurt! Help!"  
  
"Baka, shut up and follow me." Anya yanked on his ear.  
  
"OW! Okay! Women!"  
  
With another yank, Anya proceeded to drag him away from the table towards whoever this 'Ferio' was.  
  
Anya soon found the culprit; a guy with short green hair and a huge sword resting at his side. He wore something vaguely resembling medieval clothing and armor, and an earring. Next to him sat a familiar looking blonde young man with huge teary eyes, sniffling at being yelled at. Quatre... Yep, this was the table.  
  
"Are you the one throwing this Yusuke into my table?" she asked coolly.  
  
"Eh? Oh, gomen, didn't know I was throwin' him anywhere, ma'am," the Ferio said, giving her a polite nod. "Just givin' 'im what he deserves, that's all."  
  
"Ooh, that's much better. Hey, Ferio, Yusuke, Quatre, is lunch here- oh?"  
  
Anya turned and let Yusuke go, blinking.  
  
A young woman with dark hair and green eyes met her gaze quizzically. She was wearing a pair of bike shorts and a tank top, as well as sneakers. Apparently, she was an athletic of some sort.  
  
"Is this Yusuke yours?" Anya questioned.  
  
"Uh... yeah. Why?"  
  
"Your Ferio was throwing him into my table. He's got about... three of us trainers and... well, let's just say a lot of Bishonen to answer to. We just lost our meals."  
  
"Oh! FERIO!" The trainer glared at the named Bishonen.  
  
"What?! He was making fun of your clothes!" Ferio declared.  
  
"I said 'nice outfit!' What's wrong with that?" Yusuke demanded.  
  
"You said it sarcastically! I was just gonna make him apologize, Liana, honest!"  
  
"Like hell, he was tryin' to kill me for nothing!"   
  
"Guys, can't we get along?" (Guess who that was. I dare you.)  
  
"NO!"  
  
The two began to fight on top of their table.  
  
"Don't swear in front of my trainer!"  
  
"She's MY trainer too!"  
  
The trainer- Liana- stared at her two Bishonen, then gave a deep sigh and ran a hand through her hair. "If only I had a sane Bishonen," she murmured. Then she glanced at Anya. "Please excuse me a moment."   
  
With that, she marched up to the two Bishonen, pulled them apart by their ears, and proceeded to scold them. The precise words probably don't need to be repeated; let it just be known that even Yusuke (and Sano, who'd sneaked over) blushed at some of the words. Quatre sniffled, then buried his face in his hands in embarrassment that he knew these people. Finally, Liana let them go, took another deep breath, and gave Anya an apologetic smile.  
  
"I truly don't know what gets into them," she said.  
  
"Uh... right. Well, it's okay. Just as long as we don't lose another meal..." Anya suddenly had teary eyes. "So much money wasted..."  
  
"Here, I'll buy your next set of meals," Liana offered.  
  
"Hontou!?" Sano demanded from behind Anya.  
  
Anya jumped. "SANO! Don't scare me like that!"  
  
"Uh... yeah, really." Liana smiled and nodded.  
  
"...YEAAAAH! LET'S ORDER! WHOO HOO!" Sano grabbed Anya and Liana by their arms and proceeded to drag them back to Anya's table. "WAITER! WAIIITERRR!"  
  
~*~  
  
Liana had a blue tinge under her eyes by the time Anya's group finished ordering again. "I still can't believe you ordered so much," she mumbled.  
  
"It's okay, you don't have to pay for everything," Anya said, feeling sorry for her.  
  
"Whoo. Thanks."  
  
"Just Chichiri, Inuyasha and Sano's meals."  
  
"?! But..." Liana then chuckled and sighed. "Oh well. I won't complain, that's a fair trade."  
  
"Damn straight!" Inuyasha and Sano both declared. Then they paused and gave each other odd looks. "Stop copying me! Hey!"   
  
Anya and Jacky both laughed at this, while Kenshin blinked at them. "What's Uncle Yasha and Uncle San doing?" he asked.  
  
"UNCLE? Kid, I am NOT your uncle!" Inuyasha said.  
  
Kenshin got big, teary eyes.  
  
Jacky slammed a plate over Inuyasha's head.  
  
Liana sweat-dropped. "Yeah, well, how about I just give you your money and you can be on your way now..."  
  
"Oh, no, join us, really!" Jacky said. "We'd love to have another trainer! It'd be so fun!"  
  
Chichiri had his hat in hand, mumbling that he didn't know anyone here. With his free hand, however, he was shoveling some rolls into his mouth.  
  
"Eh, no, it's okay," Liana said, holding up her hands in defense.  
  
"This table looks like such a pigsty," Miroku suddenly complained. "Where're they gonna put our new orders anyway? What're we supposed to do with this mess?"  
  
"Pretend we didn't do it and use another table?" Anya asked innocently.  
  
That earned her a poke from Chichiri. "Anya-dono!" he sounded shocked. "That's dishonorable no da!"  
  
She turned to smile at him. "I'm kidding, really."  
  
He gave her a suspicious look before returning to vacuuming all of the rolls in the restaurant.  
  
Anya sweat-dropped. "But yeah, what SHOULD we do with it?"  
  
Meanwhile, Shippou was loading some mashed potatoes into a spoon and taking careful aim. He set the spoon down on the table, then slammed onto its end.  
  
The potatoes went flying and hit Inuyasha in the eye.  
  
Everyone went dead silent, and Inuyasha slowly reached up to touch the offending food with one hand while Shippou burst out laughing.  
  
"Shippy!" But Jacky was starting to laugh as well, so she couldn't scold him.  
  
"Yep, I'll definitely be going now," Liana stated, getting up and dropping some money in Anya's lap. "Goodbye!" She backed away nervously, then returned quickly to her own table.  
  
Anya blinked at her. Then she -_-ed when she felt something hit her neck. She turned around to see Sano humming innocently. "Sano?"   
  
"Nani?" he asked, still innocent.  
  
She picked up a handful of carrots and threw them at him.  
  
"HEY!"  
  
Then she picked up her soda and dumped it on his head.  
  
"MISSIE! I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT!" he hollered, jumping up and reaching for his glass of water.  
  
Anya dove behind Chichiri and grabbed one of his rolls.  
  
"Da!" he protested, then became very still as a handful of peas slammed into his face. Some fell into his shirt. An eyebrow twitched. "No da...." He picked up the rest of his rolls and started to toss them randomly.  
  
Anya smirked. Then she shrieked as she felt something ice cold slide down the back of her shirt. She whirled around to see Sano smirking at her. "Gotcha," he said.  
  
She squirmed and shook the ice out of her shirt, then grabbed another plate of ruined food. "Bring it on, Sano."  
  
Meanwhile, Valgaav was hovering in the air, arms crossed and whistling. "Who me? I don't know these people, nope not at all..."  
  
Then he sweat-dropped as he felt someone grab onto his foot. He looked down to see his trainer latched onto him.   
  
"VALLIE-POO, DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!"  
  
"Gods save me..."  
  
The food fight continued for a while, no one was sure when. The waiters came with their food, but sweat-dropped when they saw the food fight and decided to come back later (when food wouldn't fly into their faces). That way they could scold them safely for making such a mess.   
  
Then things stopped when everyone heard a loud THUD on the table.  
  
Everyone paused and looked down.  
  
A very surprised teen with dirty blonde hair and green eyes. He wore a pair of jeans, a black T-shirt and sneakers. He was lying face up on the table, which was still littered with a few plates of ruined food from when Miroku and Yusuke had fallen into the table.  
  
He looked up at the surprised Bishonen and trainers for a moment, then waved sheepishly. "Uh, hi. I'm Paul. What's up?"  
  
The trainers blinked. Then stared. Then blinked again.  
  
Paul, meanwhile, climbed off of the table and looked around. "Hey, these are all anime people! Cool!" He ^_^ed and wandered over to Chichiri, taking his hat.  
  
"DA!" Chichiri protested.  
  
"Cool, you're all NOT cosplaying, you're really... er, real!" Again Paul ^_^ed and then started to wander off, Chichiri's hat in hand. "Now where can I find a Giru?! Or maybe... HEY! IS THAT HYATT?!" With that, he began to run off.  
  
The group blinked.   
  
Then Chichiri shouted, "MY HAT NO DA!" and ran after him. "COME BACK NO DA!"  
  
"Chichiri, wait up!" Anya ran after him.  
  
"Wait up, Missie! Where you think you're going?" Sano ran after HER.  
  
"I'm coming, that I am!" Kenshin ran after HIM.  
  
"Wait up!" Jacky also came.  
  
And so on.  
  
Finally, the only three left at the table were Heero, Valgaav and Abby. Heero had been mostly ignoring the entire ordeal working away at his computer. Valgaav had given up on pretending he didn't know his own trainer and was sitting in one of the chairs with Abby glomping onto one arm.   
  
At this point, the waiters deemed it time to bring out the food.  
  
"Your orders, sirs and miss?" one asked, sweat-dropping at the huge mess.  
  
Heero glanced up, and his eyes widened at the huge amounts of plates. "Ano..."  
  
"Yeah, it's ours!" Abby ^_^ed. "Everyone just ran off after some guy. They'll be back. But right now it's me and VALGAAV!" Then she paused. "Oh, and Hee-chan, but he's not mine."  
  
Both Heero and the waiters sweat-dropped at this. "Okay then..."  
  
Heero shook his head. "What happened to the SANE ones...?"  
  
~*~  
  
Alright, chapter 19 finally completed! I wonder what'll happen to our group? Will Paul join up, or will he go off on his own to scare the Bishies? What did you all think? I hope I portrayed you guys right. Please do review! Thanks! 


	20. Chapter Twenty! The plot thickens! Sorry...

Chapter Twenty- Disappearing Act  
Notes- BIG CHAPTER TWENTY! (Waves around a banner with the number twenty all over it) May I say I love you all for staying with me this long? And I pray you keep on with me for even longer. I'd like to thank everyone, and I wanted to do so with something big happening in this chapter (seeing as it's a BIG chapter and all). However... I couldn't think of anything. ^^ I hope you enjoy anyway.  
  
Oh, note- I've been feeling guilty about adding some people in to multiple chapters, and having others only appear once or twice. Thus, some of the trainers in the past will be making cameos as well as new trainers appearing! So if you were in this a long while ago, start looking for yourself again; you may show up. ^^  
  
~*~  
  
The experimenter glanced over the many names registered on the Orientation website, then clicked on one of the links that popped up as recent. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as basic statistics about the trainer she'd chosen popped up. Then she smiled when the list of her Bishonen appeared. "Perfect. Hotohori's always get quite attached to their trainers, and vice-versa." She hesitated, then her smile became a dangerous smirk. "But before I get down to business, why don't I have a little fun? Hiei!"  
  
The demon Bishonen appeared in the doorway, a soda in hand. "What's up?"  
  
"We're going to get ourselves another pair."  
  
"Found someone already? You're getting good at that," he commented. He took a swig from the can. "Will they be willing?"  
  
"They should be willing to do anything, after a couple days. Just capture this trainer's Hotohori first and put him by himself for a while. Say, maybe in that deserted wood we used last time, for a day or two."  
  
Hiei couldn't help but shudder at that thought, lowering the empty can. "That'll come dangerously close to driving him mad, you know."  
  
"Exactly. At that point, he and his trainer will be quite willing to do whatever we tell them. Prepare to make the arrangements, Hiei. You know how to run the device, I assume?"  
  
"After so many times? Don't be insulting, trainer mine." Hiei gave a little smile.  
  
"And it doesn't bother you?" she questioned.  
  
"A little, but you know I'll keep on for you. Got nothing better to do anyway, and it gives me a boost whenever my fellow Bishonen are in pain." Hiei shrugged, then crushed the can in his hand with ease. "I'll get it going." With that, he walked away.  
  
The experimenter nodded at him. "What would I do without you, Hiei-kun?" she murmured. "Now, let's save this link. I'll have to remember this trainer's name, this..." She rolled the name off of her tongue. "Miya-chan."  
  
~*~  
  
"...So you're saying if I go to this Orientation thing, I can catch all the Bishoujo and Bishonen I want?" Paul asked slowly.  
  
Anya sighed and rubbed her temples. "YES," she said.  
  
"And they'll go with me, and be my friends?"  
  
"YES," she repeated.  
  
"And I can fight with them, and take them everywhere I go, and-"  
  
"YES, YES, YES," she said. "For the eleventh time, it's all true!"  
  
"Great!" Paul grinned. Then he flexed his muscles. "But was it really necessary to duct tape me to a chair like this?"  
  
"I'm gonna duct tape Tomo to a chair once I catch one!" Abby announced.  
  
Everyone paused and sweat-dropped at this statement. "Okay, whatever you like, Abby," Jacky said.  
  
"And yes, it was necessary to prevent you from scaring all the Bishoujo in the city," Anya told Paul.  
  
"Aw... alright. So there's this Orientation thing? Can we go right now?"  
  
"I don't see why not." Anya checked the clock; they were back in one of the hotel rooms they had rented. "Since we finished eating an hour ago, we should be good. Besides, I wanna get my Bish-dex back and see if it's up and working again. We can stop by there after we drop you off."  
  
"Annie-dono, I wanna train sometime, that I do," Kenshin said quietly. He was sitting on a nearby bed, his wooden sword in his small hands.   
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry Kenshin. I've completely forgotten, haven't I?" Anya asked.  
  
"I can train him here while you all are out," Sano volunteered. "Since my trainer ain't going very far, and I don't feel like walking..."  
  
"Okay, that sounds good," Anya said. "If you both promise not to destroy the place while we're gone, of course."  
  
"Relax, missie. We'll move everything out of the way so nothing will be damaged," Sano said. He waved a hand as though in dismissal of her statement.   
  
"All right. Just... as much as you don't like modern technology, do NOT use any of it as target practice for either yourself or Kenshin, mmkay?" Anya gave Sano a stern look.  
  
"I wasn't gonna! Women," he muttered.  
  
"Trainers," Inuyasha added helpfully.  
  
"Yeah, them too."  
  
"Da..." Chichiri sweat-dropped, his only contribution to the conversation.  
  
"Well, while we're at it... Heero, you wanna come or go?" Anya asked.  
  
Her Bishonen looked up; for once, he'd been staring at the floor and not a computer screen. "I'll go with you."  
  
"And I, no da," Chichiri said.  
  
"Of course," Sano said with a glare.  
  
"And what's THAT for, no da?" Chichiri gave his fellow Bishonen a somewhat confused look.  
  
"Nothing. Forget it." Sano glanced away. "Are you all leaving, or not?"  
  
"We're leaving... So how to do this... Ne, Chichiri?"   
  
"Hai, Anya-dono no da?"  
  
"Just Anya, please." The trainer glanced at Paul. "Can you use a freezing spell?"  
  
"Uh... hai. What for, may I ask no da?"  
  
"We'll untie our new friend here, but just in case, we ought to keep close tabs on him until he's an official trainer. No offense, of course, Paul."   
  
"It's fine... I'm used to it." Paul sighed.  
  
The group sweat-dropped. "You're used to being tied up... never mind. Not gonna ask," Jacky said. She ran a hand through her hair. "Um... so are we heading out or not?"  
  
"Let's get going. Chiri?"  
  
"Hai no da!"  
  
With a pop, Paul was no longer duct taped to the chair, but hovering in mid-air. He looked around himself with wide eyes. Then he grinned. "Hey, I'm flying! Look at me!" He proceeded to flap his arms like wings.  
  
Anya sweat-dropped and turned to Chichiri. "I thought we were going to use a freezing spell?"  
  
"I figured he couldn't do much if he was in the air, no da," Chichiri said. He waved his staff towards the young man, who was still frantically flapping his arms. "Besides, he doesn't seem to mind much."  
  
"True. Well, shall we?"  
  
"Yep!"  
  
~*~  
  
"Okay, and Paul, just remember do NOT glomp any Bishoujo at least until you've gotten your stuff, okay?" Anya said.  
  
"Yeah, I got it. Thanks an' all that. Maybe I'll see ya around town later. As soon as I get my stuff, though, I'm off to catch my Bishies." Paul punched a fist into the air for emphasis.  
  
"Well, good luck on that!" Jacky said.  
  
"May the duct tape be with you," Abby said solemnly.   
  
Paul nodded, just as solemn as she was. "And may you have enough of said duct tape to capture all the Bishies you desire."  
  
With that, Paul went into the Orientation building.  
  
"Eh?" Anya scratched her head. "Abby, what was that?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, I just said good luck." Abby shrugged.  
  
"The hyper one's greeting," Jacky stated.  
  
"Yup!"  
  
"Okay... let's go check out that store from earlier. I wanna check out my Dex."   
  
With that, the group made their way down the street again.  
  
It only took a short while for them to reach said shop, which was still quite open and ready to serve. The moment Anya stepped in, a man she recognized from earlier appeared and gave her a little bow.  
  
"Anya-dono, wasn't it? Your Bish-dex is all ready for you. It had just a little glitch, too much sunlight we believe. It's all in working order now."  
  
"Great, thanks. What do I owe you?" Anya reached into her pocket.  
  
The man smiled and produced her Bish-dex before holding out a hand. "Just a little..." He named his price.  
  
Anya blanched, but paid it. /A little my left foot.../ "Arigatou. Now let's see..." She turned it on.  
  
The Dex immediately beeped. "New Bishonen captured. Name, Chichiri. Stage, Sama. Type, magical. Nickname?"  
  
Anya glanced at Chichiri, who immediately shook his head and waved one hand in a 'no thanks' gesture. "None." He sighed in relief. "What? I'll only give my Bishies nicknames if they want it. 'Cept for Sano, of course. He's Fluffy."  
  
Abby's eyes went wide and starry. "Fluffy? Sesshy-chan's here?"  
  
Inuyasha's eyes, however, narrowed. "That bastard! Where is he?!"  
  
"Ah, ano... I was talking about Sano, minna," Anya said as Inuyasha pulled out his sword.  
  
The Bishonen snorted at her. Then he put his sword back. "Fine then. Stupid trainer..."  
  
Jacky hit him on the head.  
  
"Now four Bishonen captured," the Dex beeped.   
  
"Yes, I noticed that," Anya replied.  
  
"Message for Anya from Miya-chan, trainer status, novice-"  
  
"A message?"  
  
"From who no da?" Chichiri asked.  
  
"Miya-chan! Right! She was the trainer I met at that gym with the Hotohori and Duo!" Anya exclaimed. She immediately accepted the message. "Heya, Miya-chan! It's been..."  
  
She faltered when the other trainer's voice reached her ears, and a panicked face showed up on the little screen.  
  
"Anya? That you? I've been trying to reach you for two hours!"  
  
"Gomen, my Dex was out of commission. I just got it back. What's wrong?"  
  
"Hotohori's gone! I can't find him anywhere, and it's been a day!" Miya-chan cried.   
  
A Bishonen Anya didn't recognize, one with spiked black hair, appeared on the screen. "Our trainer's not sleeping at all," he said with exasperation. "I'm worried too, but can't you talk some sense into the woman?"  
  
Anya shook her head. "Hotohori? Gone? For a day?" A sudden memory of her Orientation came back to her...  
  
FLASH!  
  
"Never leave your Bishonen more than three miles away from you. If you must, only do so in emergencies and for VERY short periods of time. As you will see shortly, you are bonded to your Bishonen by your blood. If they cannot reach you and you cannot reach them, they will go mad, possibly die after forty-eight hours. Is that CLEAR? Forty-eight hours, three miles."  
  
FLASH!  
  
Anya shook her head once more, and said, "How far have you searched from where you started off?"  
  
"Uh... at least four or five miles..." the Bishonen replied.  
  
"Oh, god. Miya-chan, you'd better start looking faster. You've only got another twenty-four hours, tops, before you lose your Bishonen!"  
  
Miya-chan paled. "I know! And I can't stand the idea of him going mad and dying like that! My poor Hotohori..." A tear went down her face.  
  
Then she wiped the tear away. "I... I hated it. When he died in the show, I mean. It's so cool knowing him for real. And I couldn't replace him with another Bishonen!" she said. "I have no idea where he is! My Hotohori..."  
  
Chichiri took Anya's Dex away from her. "You mean to tell me Hotohori-sama is gone completely?" he asked, taking off his mask.  
  
Miya-chan blinked at him. "You're one of Anya's? Ne, Anya, he's hot. Then again, I always thought Chichiris were..."   
  
Chichiri turned a beet red. "Ano, can you answer my question please?" he asked, rubbing his neck.  
  
"Oh, hai, hai. Yes, Hotohori's gone. One moment he was there helping me put stuff up so we could get going to the gym- you know, like usual. Then I turned around and he was gone! Duo said he had no idea where he'd gone, and my other Bishonen were asleep, so..." Miya-chan shrugged helplessly. "Anyway, I just really needed to talk to someone. I know you're probably nowhere near my city, but... If you by any chance see a Hotohori-"  
  
"We'll ask him," Anya finished. "You get some rest and keep looking. We'll keep an eye out for you, all we can."  
  
Miya-chan nodded. "Arigatou. Oh, Hotohori... I can't stand this... Bye, Anya. Thanks again." With that, the screen went blank.  
  
"I don't like that one bit," Heero stated.  
  
The group turned to him, surprised at his words. Then Inuyasha nodded. "It's too much like at home," he said.  
  
"Home?" Jacky asked.  
  
"Yes," Miroku said. "Too much like it."  
  
"Back at my home, too no da," Chichiri added in. "When I was young, it started to happen a lot. My folks always kept me inside... that's why it took so long for me to evolve..." As an afterthought he said, "No da."  
  
"I probably shouldn't be asking this, but what?" Jacky asked.  
  
"It happened back at our city too," Valgaav said. "Though only once in a while."  
  
"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Abby screamed.  
  
Everyone covered their ears, wincing. A couple passerby stared, then moved on.  
  
"Jeez, woman," Valgaav muttered.   
  
"It's sort of a Bishonen thing," Heero said. He looked reluctant and... was it... scared?  
  
"Then don't say a thing," Anya said. "We won't force-"  
  
"I will! If it's been happening a lot, and my Vallie-poo's in trouble, then I demand to know what's going on!" Abby's eyes became teary.  
  
Valgaav turned away, crossing his arms and sweat-dropping. "I do not know these people, I do not know these people," he chanted to himself.  
  
Abby sniffed. "You don't love me, Val-chan?" she asked, clasping her hands under her chin.  
  
The Bishonen hung his head. "Kami-sama, don't-" he began. "OOF!"  
  
Abby had thrown herself on top of her one and only Bishonen, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and holding on for all she was worth. "But you're my Val-chan!" she declared.   
  
The rest of the group stepped back and pretended they didn't know the trainer or her Bishonen.  
  
"We'll tell you what's going on," Heero said, glancing around. "There is a certain... obligation, as you are our trainer. No matter what you say about it. If it is happening to trainers, too, then..." He straightened and turned around. "But first, we must get your friend and go back to the hotel."  
  
"Alright," Anya said, frowning at his sudden speech. She couldn't remember a time when he'd spoken so much at once, not even on the show. "Let's get going."  
  
~*~  
  
Hotohori couldn't see very well anymore. Everything was sort of blurry, as though he'd been drinking too much sake. Almost like that time when Tasuki had spiked his drink back home...   
  
Except he knew what was happening to him. He just didn't know why.  
  
/Suzaku, why me?/ he thought as he blinked his eyes. The blurred vision refused to clear. /Why can't.../ He couldn't finish his somewhat coherent question as he lost his footing and stumbled.  
  
For a long moment, he couldn't even think straight, much less think about getting up. Then the Bishonen thought despairingly, /It'll take forever to get my hair fixed.../  
  
After what seemed like forever, he managed to get up into a sitting position and leaned against a nearby tree; or was it a rock? He supposed it didn't really matter. It could have been someone's house for all he cared. /Gotta rest a bit. If I stay in one place, Miya-chan'll find me easier... How long has it been? At least a day.../  
  
He closed his eyes. /Keep it together. You're an emperor. You have to be strong. Even when no one's watching./  
  
"Having a nice hike, Hotohori-san?" asked a somewhat amused voice.  
  
His eyes snapped open, but all that greeted his eyes was the blurred vision. That, and a newly acquired headache, was all he gained for his efforts to see clearly. "Who's there?"  
  
"A friend. I can lead you back to your trainer, if you wish. I know where she is." The voice sounded fairly polite, if a bit cold.  
  
"Miya-chan? You know where she is?" Already he could imagine himself getting better, getting his hair fixed and dressing in some clean clothes...  
  
"I do. However, I'd like to ask a favor of you..."  
  
The savior then became questionable to the Bishonen. "What sort of... favor?" Hotohori croaked.  
  
"Just to help my trainer with a little... experiment she's working on. You and your trainer must agree together, that is. What do you say?"  
  
"...What experiment?"  
  
"That's for my trainer to tell you. Now do you accept... or would you prefer wandering around in circles until you die from madness?"  
  
Considering how badly he was doing right then, Hotohori decided he'd rather return to his trainer sooner and deal with whatever was in store for him instead of dying like this. After all, madmen rarely looked beautiful when they died... "We accept," he said, using the royal We.  
  
"Good." The voice sounded pleased. "Now then, to get you back to your trainer. My trainer has been most interested in meeting you and Miya-chan, Hotohori-san. This shall be very... hmm, educational."  
  
Hotohori wanted to ask who exactly this experiment would be interesting or educational for, but a wave of dizziness hit him then, and he had to close his eyes. Then, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and opened his blurry eyes to see a figure leaning over him.  
  
Then everything went black.  
  
~*~  
  
Heh, and the plot thickens! What did everyone think? (Pats herself on the back for coming up with the next chapter so quickly) So how much do you think the Bishies will reveal? And, perhaps, what will happen to Hotohori? I promise I'll add in more people next chapter. Until then... (Waves) Thanks for your time! 


	21. Chapter TwentyOne! Drama and backstory a...

Chapter Twenty-one- Explanations of the Bishonen Sort  
  
Notes- Serious chapter here. Drama and backstory abounds! Please enjoy. And sorry, no new trainers this chapter, either. I swear I'll add more people in next time. Sorry for the wait. ^^;  
  
~*~  
  
"Hey, everyone, what're ya doing back so soon? Woulda thought you'd stay out longer," Sano greeted them as they came back into the hotel rooms. He seemed blissfully ignorant of the grim expressions among everyone else. "Ne, Missie, I did sorta bang up the TV a bit, but it still works if you punch it in the side where the power was... Heh, heh..." he scratched his head and ^^; ed.   
  
Anya ignored him and turned to look at Heero. She sat on the nearest bed and crossed her arms. "Well?"  
  
There was a long, uncomfortable silence as Jacky slowly closed the door, and sat on a nearby chair. Chichiri and Inuyasha made themselves comfortable on the floor, while Abby (and a choking Valgaav) took up the other bed. Miroku and Shippou quietly leaned against the nearest wall.  
  
Sano blinked after a moment. "Ne, why so quiet? What happened to ya beating me over the head and all?" he questioned.  
  
Again, Anya ignored him, looking at Heero.  
  
The Gundam Wing Bishonen nodded once, and ran a hand through his hair (an unusual sign of uneasiness in the Gundam fighter). "Mission accepted," he said to himself. Then, louder, he said, "We'll explain as much as we can to you. However, keep in mind that we can't tell all."  
  
Anya nodded. "I've understood that since I came here," she said.  
  
"And I," came Jacky and Abby's voices in unison.  
  
"Good." Heero glanced at Sano, who had question marks floating all around his head. "It's started since about a year ago. That's when we noticed it, anyhow."  
  
"Same here," Chichiri agreed. His mask was still off. Under any other circumstances, it would have been likely that he'd have the trainers drooling over him. However, now was obviously not the time for it. He lifted a hand to trace his scar. "It wasn't a big threat at first..."  
  
"Whoa, wait, you're not tellin' 'em about-?" Sano demanded.  
  
"We are," Chichiri said. "One of our trainer's friends has had their Bishonen kidnapped."  
  
"...You're joking."  
  
"I am not."  
  
Sano turned to the others in the room, but all of them either nodded in confirmation or looked away. "...The hell you all eat? You're all nuts," he muttered. "Tellin' trainers. What's next, tellin' them about our homes, too?"  
  
Heero ignored that. "I agree with Chichiri-san. It was not a big threat at first."  
  
"We all thought it was just a few more trainers than usual, when the first three or so from our village disappeared," Inuyasha said. He growled and clenched his hands into fists. "Then they started coming back, mad as hell."  
  
"Mad?" Anya asked. "You mean, like, when they're caught kind of mad?"  
  
"Yes. As though they had been forced away from their trainers for too long..." Chichiri added at the end, "No da." However, it was halfhearted at best.  
  
"But who would do that to their own Bishies?" Jacky wondered.  
  
"There's more," Sano said, making everyone turned to him with surprised expressions. He glared at them. "What, I can't speak? It's been happening in my home too."   
  
He clenched his fists, as though readying to fight something. Then he shook his head, relaxed his hands, and looked back at Anya.   
  
"After this started happening, we all noticed a bunch of half Bishonen and Bishoujo roaming around too."  
  
"What's that got to do with it?" Anya asked.  
  
"Baka, shut up and let us explain," Inuyasha muttered.  
  
Jacky started to stand, as though preparing to hit him, but changed her mind and sat back down.  
  
Anya frowned. "Fine."  
  
"Most of these halflings were mad," Heero stated. "As mad as their parents. Some were sane, but none were able to explain where they were from, or what they were wandering around for."  
  
"What's wrong with halflings, other than them being mad?" Abby asked. Surprisingly, she had been silent the entire time. Valgaav had as well, though it was for a much more obvious reason (Abby having a choke hold on him).  
  
"There's usually nothing... wrong... with halflings, other than most of us don't exactly appreciate them bugging us," Sano stated, giving the trainer an irritated glance. "But usually there's only one in, say, a hundred of us full-bloods. Now there's ten."  
  
"That is a big increase." Anya blinked.  
  
"We noticed," Inuyasha drawled.  
  
Jacky grabbed a broom from out of nowhere and reached over to hit him on the head with it. Satisfied, she placed the broom on the side of her chair for easy reaching. Inuyasha shot her a glare, but didn't comment.  
  
"To add to it, all of these halflings, even the sane ones, had one thing in mind; capture our children." The last was spat out angrily by Inuyasha. His eyes seemed to become a dark red for a moment before returning to normal. A trickle of blood came from his left hand where he'd been clenching his hand too hard.  
  
Jacky now got up to sit next to her Bishonen and placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it sympathetically. Instead of pulling away, like the others half expected, he leaned into her hand and closed his eyes. Inuyasha then took a deep breath as though forcibly trying to calm himself.  
  
Anya shook her head. "That's sick," she mumbled. "So you think that this... sicko, or whoever or whatever... is capturing full-blood Bishonen to create these halflings, all for the purpose of capturing your kids? Why? Why can't they just take the kids?"  
  
"We have discovered that they are trying to breed more halflings," Heero stated.  
  
"But why?"  
  
"That's the question. To make us all into slaves for humans, to kill off humans OR Bishonen, to generally create a whole new species for powers' sake..." Sanosuke shrugged. "We don't know."  
  
The trainers swallowed and glanced at each other. "Are any humans looking into this?" Abby asked.  
  
"No," Inuyasha spat.  
  
"None that we know of," Chichiri rebuked him gently.  
  
Anya suddenly glanced up at Sano. "Ne, Sano? Is this what you were talking to those other Bishonen about all those times?" she asked.  
  
He glanced away and nodded.  
  
At this point, Chibi Kenshin walked into the room, whistling cheerfully. "Oh, hiya, Annie-dono!" he said with a ^_^. "We were wondering when you'd come back, that we were..."   
  
He faltered when he realized everyone in the room was silent, and staring at him.  
  
"...N-nani?" he asked.  
  
Anya suddenly stood up, walked over, picked him up, and hugged him.   
  
"Oro?"  
  
Then she looked up at Sano, a fearful question in her eyes. "Do you... possibly think this... was what that halfling was after? To capture Kenshin?"  
  
"I don't doubt it, Missie."  
  
"And... They might do it again?"  
  
"Not just to Kenshin," Chichiri said. "To anyone... no da."  
  
The room was uncomfortably quiet. The only sound made was of Valgaav gagging and passing out, for Abby's grip on him had become almost deadly.   
  
"And... About Miya-chan... And her Hotohori?" Anya said. "You don't think... they're making halflings with the caught Bishonen AND the trainer, do you?"  
  
Sano glanced away.  
  
"Oh, my Kami..." Anya sat back on the bed, Kenshin still in her arms.   
  
Worried at the quiet and at everyone's way of talking, Kenshin snuggled back, looking up at his trainer with big eyes.  
  
"Don't worry, Annie-dono, I'll train more and evolve to protect you an' everyone else, that I will," he said solemnly.  
  
For an answer, she ruffled his thick red mane of hair and gave him a small smile. He smiled back, thankful for this much recognition, and closed his eyes to relax a bit.  
  
"Since this is now obviously happening to trainers, too," Chichiri began, "we'll have to be on guard. We'll all have to train, not just Kenshin."  
  
"I guessed that, baka," Sano growled.  
  
Chichiri turned, a hurt and incredulous expression on his face. "Why are you being so rude?" he asked.  
  
"Because you're being too obvious for my health," Sano said. He crossed his arms. "The hell else you think we'd do? Sit here and twiddle our thumbs like you? We gotta protect our trainers and ourselves. Obviously. I think we all noticed."  
  
The blue-haired Bishonen winced at the verbal jabs, then turned to fully face Sano. "Iie, it's not just that, Sano. You've been rude to me since we got out of that village with Anya-dono. What's that all about?"  
  
There was another long silence, this one incredibly awkward. Jacky pretended to be fascinated with Inuyasha's ears. Abby began poking Valgaav to see if he was all right (he'd finally passed out). The rest of the room became very interested in the carpet, the ceiling, or the walls. Anya was the only exception, staring from one Bishonen to the other with wide eyes.  
  
Finally, Sano glanced away. "Nothin'," he muttered. "Just ****in' nothing." He turned and marched out of the hotel room, slamming the door shut.  
  
Anya blinked, and looked at her other Bishonen in confusion. "'Chiri?"  
  
He turned back to her and shrugged. "I want to know," he said simply.  
  
The trainer frowned. Then she looked at the door. Finally, she glanced down at the Chibi nestled in her arms. In one swift motion, she stood, handed Kenshin to a startled Chichiri, and marched out the door after her Sanosuke.  
  
Chichiri nearly dropped Kenshin in his surprise, blinking as his trainer disappeared as well. Then he sighed and looked to the others. "Now what should we do?"  
  
"Shouldn't one o' ya go after her?" Inuyasha muttered.  
  
"Ah, so you DO care," Jacky teased him.  
  
He ignored her. "After all, she is your trainer an' all," he said.  
  
"I can sense her ki... no da. She is distressed, but will be fine with Sano around." Chichiri sat down on the bed, where Anya had been, and looked around again. "Until they return, let's try to figure out what to do from here."  
  
"May I suggest training in more gyms?" Jacky said. The trainer blushed when all of the Bishonen glanced up at her. "I mean, it's a public area, so my thoughts would be that even a sicko wouldn't be stupid enough to try and get us while we're working out there. Plus, we can warn other trainers of what's going on."  
  
Inuyasha stared at his trainer, then put a hand on her forehead.  
  
"N-nani?" she asked, frowning at him.  
  
"I was checking for a fever. Yer acting really smart all of a sudden."  
  
She slapped his hand away, blushing slightly. "Ano..."  
  
"It is a good idea, but let's explore other options too before we make a decision, no da," Chichiri said.  
  
The others nodded, and started to try and think of ideas.   
  
At this, Abby looked up from Valgaav and tilted her head to one side. "I'm hungry! Who's up for sugar?"  
  
Everyone face-faulted.  
  
~*~  
  
Anya glanced down the hallway, left, then right. She spotted Sano just turning the corner to her left. "Ne, Sano! Wait up!" She started after him.  
  
If anything, the Bishonen walked faster.  
  
"Sanosuke! Sagara Sanosuke, if you don't slow down this minute you will have to find your own food again!" she declared.  
  
Reluctantly, he stopped. However, he remained turned away. "Leave me alone, Missie."  
  
"The hell I will! What is going on?" She walked up to him, stopping a few feet behind him. She eyed her Bishonen for a moment. "You're tense as anything, and you were being unnecessarily rude to 'Chiri back there."  
  
"Sure, trust your favorite Bishonen Chichiri."  
  
Anya stopped, as though she'd been slapped across the face. White-hot anger flashed through her face. Then she seemed expressionless. "Is that what this is about?" she asked quietly.  
  
Sano sighed. "Here we go with the damn hormones," he muttered.  
  
"Do you honestly think I'm favoring one of you over the other? Sano, you're my first Bishonen. You always will be."  
  
"Then why the hell won't you ever trust my judgement?" He whirled around and glared at her. "What about when you got captured? What about when I didn't want that... that... blue-haired freak to-"  
  
"He is NOT a freak!"  
  
"See? There you go, defending him again. Why do I bother?" Sano turned away again.  
  
"Sanosuke, you are being completely unfair. He made some honest mistakes, and he paid for them. Like Kenshin tried to, like you've been trying... like half of the freaking Bishonen in this world are trying to, or have tried."  
  
The Bishonen was silent.  
  
"Besides, Sano, I've seen your way of finding things before." She had to smile, despite how upset she felt. "Remember Kyoto?"  
  
He flinched, and she could see some red creeping up his neck. "That's a low blow, Missie," he muttered.  
  
"I know. I shouldn't have trusted 'Chiri right off the bat, but I was feeling a bit too optimistic, I guess. It's the fangirl in me, maybe. Felt so happy I thought everything would go okay. And it did, up until now." Anya looked back down the hall, momentarily marveling at the fact that no one had come out to see what was going on. Then her mind returned to business. "Look, I'm sorry if I acted like I never trusted you. It's just... you never really acted like you trusted me, up 'till lately."  
  
He snorted. "Then you're clueless." He turned back. Anya could see the faintest beginnings of a rueful smile on his face. "I trusted ya, and I started to worry about you even before that mad halfling attacked you." He walked over until he stood only a couple feet away from her again. "And for your information, Missie, you are NOT a fangirl. Not by normal terms."  
  
She shook her head. "Then why am I here?"  
  
"Because you were picked or somethin'. The hell you expect me to know about your old world? I know jack ****-"  
  
"Watch your language in-" she began automatically, then clamped a hand over her mouth and blushed slightly. "Sorry, habit."  
  
"It's fine. I got used to it." He reached out, grabbed her hand, and pulled it down. Then he surveyed her knuckles for a moment, like he had a long while ago. "You know, you should work on those punches of yours. Now that we're openly talking about these threats, some self defense may come in handy."  
  
Anya blinked, and pulled her hand away. "Are you saying you'll teach me how to fight?"  
  
"Fight better, anyway." Sano shrugged. "Of course, if you want Mister Sugoi Blue-Hair to train you, that's fine..."   
  
"Mister Sugoi Blue-Hair?" Anya asked, grinning. "Where do you get these names, Sano?" She then reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "And for YOUR information, I wouldn't mind a lesson or two."  
  
Slowly, he grinned back. "Great! I mean, that's fine," he muttered casually, brushing off her hand. "Might as well get back, others may be worried an' all that..."  
  
"Yes, of course."  
  
The two turned back towards the room, and slowly made their way back.  
  
"By the way, how'd ya know about Kyoto?"  
  
"I know many things, young grasshopper," Anya laughed mysteriously.  
  
She gained a hit to the head.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Gotcha!"  
  
"Sano, you are so dead! Get back here!"  
  
"Nya-uh!"  
  
The two raced through the hallways. Only now, when the argument was over, did some trainers and their Bishies peer into the hall to see what on earth was going on.  
  
~*~  
  
And the chapter ends here! I'm sorry for ending it so quickly, everyone, but I wanted to get this out faster. And that will be rare for the coming weeks, for which I apologize in advance. Next time, you'll get an update on Hotohori and Miya-chan, not to mention how our semi-bad-guys are doing and what our trainer's Bishonen have decided on. Until next time...  
  
Readers- (pop up in protest) Ne! When do we get to show up in the story?  
  
(Counts number of people wanting to be in story) (Dies) Ano, it will definitely take a while, but I promise I'll try my best to get you all in here. And if not, maybe there'll be a sequel. Who knows? ^^  
  
Random person- A sequel to this epic?   
  
Just out of boredom, I counted all of my chapter's pages. Wanna know how long this thing is? (Drum roll!) 203 PAGES! Whoo! (Throws confetti around) And it's going on, and on...  
  
Yeah, I'll shut up now. Sorry for the long author's notes in this. ^^ Until next time, on BISHONEN AND BISHOUJO!  
  
Readers- GET ON WITH IT!  
  
Right, sorry... Bye! (Runs off to write the next part) 


	22. Chapter Twenty Two! A bit lighter than l...

Chapter Twenty-two- Decisions and the Training Begins  
  
Notes- Wow, thanks again for everyone's reviews!  
  
(Is proud of the very fast update) Like I promised for the past two chapters, I introduce more people! Though some of you aren't in the best of positions, heh... don't kill me for that, you'll come up again later, honest... Please enjoy!  
  
~*~  
  
"Ugh..."  
  
Miya-chan winced as she felt a sharp pain shoot through her head, from temple to temple. Gingerly, she lifted one hand to touch the left side of her face, and winced again. "What's going on?" she mumbled.  
  
"Oh, good, you're awake!" came a voice.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
The trainer looked up to see she was in a small dark room, lying on a bed. It wasn't a very comfortable bed, mind you; it was only just big enough and comfortable enough to lie on. There was another bed across from hers of the exact same make. Other than that, a plush chair in the corner, and a set of drawers, the room was bare of furniture.  
  
And on that other bed sat a young woman.  
  
Miya-chan blinked, and sat up hurriedly. "What- OW!" She lay back down, gritting her teeth against the sudden jolt of pain.  
  
"Careful, they must've hit you hard," the girl said softly. "I'd offer you an aspirin, but I don't think they'd oblige us."  
  
"They who?" Miya-chan asked, in the same soft voice. "Who are you?"  
  
"Oh, me?" the girl smiled. "Name's Jessica. You?"  
  
"Miya-chan. Where... ugh... are we?"  
  
"Frankly... I have no clue. All I know is we're on floor 3B of some laboratory."  
  
"Laboratory? What're we doing here?"  
  
Jessica glanced away. "So they can experiment on us and our Bishonen, of course. What did you expect?"  
  
"Bishonen...? Hotohori! And Duo, and-"  
  
"Calm down. Chances are they're all okay, just in another room. We're rarely allowed to see them, but we can tell if they're getting hurt, remember? From orientation and all that?"  
  
Slowly, the other trainer nodded. "What are they experimenting on us for?"  
  
"They want half Bishies."  
  
"What does that have to do with-" Miya-chan stopped and blushed. The implications of what Jessica had just said hit her like a bucket of ice cold water. "You mean... they don't make us..."  
  
Jessica laughed. However, it wasn't a laugh with much mirth in it. "No, they extract that sorta thing from us. We just get to watch our innocence, not to mention our children, go bye-bye. Repeatedly." She laughed again, and Miya-chan shuddered.  
  
"Has that happened to you?" Miya-chan asked with wide eyes.  
  
"Me? No, not yet thank Kami. But it happened to my last roommate, and after a while she went crazy. And they're starting to push at me now. They say if I don't cooperate they'll send Legolas out into the middle of nowhere until he dies of madness."  
  
"But can't we free them?" Miya-chan asked. "Then they won't get hurt!"  
  
"Take a look, Miya-chan. Can we?"  
  
The trainer blinked, then her eyes widened again. "My Bishie balls are gone! And my belt!" She clenched her fists. "What're they trying to pull? They can't do this to us!"  
  
"They have done it, and they'll keep doing it, I'm afraid. We don't have too much choice. We either follow them or lose our Bishonen in the worst way possible..." Jessica shook her head. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be scaring you like this. You just woke up."  
  
"No, it's fine. I should know what's going on. So when do you think they'll come and talk to me?"  
  
"Probably after you get freaked out completely. That's what they did to me. They like to see us scared and cooperative. Look, Miya-chan... The best way to get outta here or stay all right is if you show you're not scared of losing your Bishonen or anything like that." Jessica shook her head.   
  
There was a long silence.  
  
Then, "Why are they creating halflings?" Miya-chan asked, trying to somewhat change the subject.   
  
"They're trying to find a way to wipe them out completely, or make sure they can get captured like full bloods. That's what I meant by them killing off trainer's kids. The experimenter, whoever they are, seems to find it entertaining to watch them get killed."  
  
"That's... sick!"  
  
"I know."   
  
"How long have you been stuck in this place?" Miya-chan asked.  
  
"At least four or five days."  
  
"Then I should have some time before they...?"  
  
"Hopefully."  
  
"Good. Maybe I'll find a way out for us then." Miya-chan moaned as she felt another sharp pain. "When my headache goes away, that is."  
  
Jessica finally stood and walked over to Miya-chan's bed, sitting beside the other trainer. She put a hand on Miya-chan's shoulder. "Believe me, we all tried. But whoever's in charge here always has one or two Bishonen on guard, and they're all toughies. There's at least one Hiei, and one of the other trainers said he once saw a Yami Yugi wandering around."  
  
Miya-chan shuddered. "That's not a good combination..."  
  
"I didn't think so. Here, I can at least get you some water; there's a small bathroom in the corner over here. Not much, but hey..."  
  
Jessica helped her up and led her over to a door that Miya-chan hadn't noticed before. Inside, the trainer got her a glass of water and they both made their way back to the beds.  
  
"Well... let's try to keep our minds off this place for a while, ne?" Jessica asked with a small smile. "How about we talk Bishies? Or... where we're from?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Their talk lasted for the next few hours.  
  
~*~  
  
"I don't see why you can't go talk to your victims yourself," Bryanna snapped, crossing her arms and glaring at the experimenter.  
  
"Because I don't feel like it. I'm busy."  
  
"Oh, and I'm not?" Bryanna's eyes flashed dangerously. "Watch yourself, girl. I'm only helping 'cause Logan's my friend, not because I really believe in this bull."  
  
"And by bull you mean...?"  
  
"By bull I mean what you're unnecessarily putting all these Bishonen and their trainers through."  
  
"That's too bad you feel that way. I was hoping you'd voluntarily helped me." The other redhead turned to glance at the fuming trainer coolly. "Let me put it this way. You have no real choice unless you want your Bishonen to become my guinea pigs too."  
  
"Ha. Like my Yamis would even let you touch them."  
  
"I wouldn't have to. You've seen our little teleporting device. All I'd have to do is snap my fingers. Then Hiei-kun would be able to send them to the coldest, most remote spot on the planet in a matter of seconds."  
  
Bryanna paled, then forced herself to regain her composure.   
  
The experimenter smiled slightly. "You're suddenly quiet, friend. Please, do speak your mind like you always do. I enjoy listening to you babbling on."  
  
"That is IT." Bryanna lunged at her.  
  
"Hiei!"  
  
The demon Bishonen appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and knocked the redhead trainer off of the experimenter with one blow. Bryanna slammed into a nearby wall.  
  
"****, damn it!" The trainer slowly got back to her feet, rubbing one arm that felt numb.  
  
"Hiei-kun, I think she needs to watch one of her Bishies go mad. Slowly."  
  
The Bishonen nodded in understanding, lifting up a Bish-ball that neither trainer had seen a moment before. "All right. How about this Lina Bishoujo?"  
  
"How the hell did you get that?" Bryanna demanded. She looked down at her Bish-belt, then at the ball in his hand incredulously.  
  
"Now, friend, let me make this perfectly clear. I'm only dealing with YOU because you are one of Logan's friends, and I'm his friend. I wouldn't dream of hurting him, but I have no such qualms about you. Now go and check on our newest trainer and her Bishonen, and we'll take good care of your Lina."  
  
Bryanna's eyes flashed, and for a moment they seemed to become a murderous red. Then she calmed down. "Sure." The only thing giving away her anger when she turned away was her hands, clenching tightly enough for her nails to draw blood. "Freaking *****, has no right to..." Her voice trailed off as she disappeared around a corner.   
  
The redhead experimenter smiled again. "Well, that went well, didn't it Hiei-kun?"  
  
"I would say so," he said, glancing at the Bish-ball in distaste. "Can I put this down now? There's too much... positive energy coming from here."  
  
"Of course. Please set it on my desk. I'm sorry for disturbing you, but my employees seem to be having problems following simple instructions."  
  
Hiei flashed her a smile. "Ne, no worries. I'd do whatever I could for my trainer, and ya know it." He gave her thumbs up. "Just call anytime. I'll be in the arcade." With that, he left.  
  
~*~  
  
((Ne, Neko-chan, please don't kill me having this happen to your character. Onegai?))  
  
~*~  
  
"We're back," Anya said, opening the door.  
  
"Wai, welcome back!" declared someone in the room.  
  
The trainer and Sano sweat-dropped when they saw who it was. "Paul?" Anya asked slowly. "What're you doing here? I thought you'd be gone by now."  
  
He shrugged. "Yeah, well, look who I caught!" He gestured to someone else.  
  
Anya's eyes widened. "Oh my Kami, you did NOT bring an Excel into our hotel rooms!"  
  
"Did too," he said, pouting. "She's awesome! I wish I coulda caught a Bishonen or two by now, too, but I will eventually ne?" He flashed a smile and thumbs up at her.  
  
"But where...?" Anya sweat-dropped again to see that Chichiri and Kenshin were peeking out from under the monk's hat, while Inuyasha and Jacky had taken refuge under the bed. Heero was peeking out from the bathroom with a gun in hand, watching the insane Bishoujo and her trainer suspiciously. Miroku and Shippou were nowhere in sight. Abby sat glomping onto Valgaav (as always).  
  
Jacky waved. "Welcome back!"  
  
"How did Paul get in here again?" Anya asked her, kneeling by the bed.  
  
"He just marched in, begged to have a room with us, and Abby accepted! Can you believe it? We're switching stuff up now; I'm in your room. The crazies get their own room, and us semi-sane folk get this one."  
  
"Fine by me as long as Excel stops messing it up!" Anya turned to look at said Bishoujo.  
  
"I, Excel- Excel, will defeat all manga artists and destroy the manga because that's what my Iilpallazo-sama wants. Not to mention my new trainer is friends with him, and I want to meet him and then maybe, maybe-" Excel's eyes got very wide and shiny as she struck a pose and stared out the window. "Maybe then I can be friends with him too, maybe more! Because I am Excel- Excel and an innocent maiden such as myself deserves someone like Iilpallazo-sama, ne Paul-kun? Ne, ne, ne, ne, ne?"  
  
Paul grinned. "Ain't she great?" He ^^ed.  
  
"Uh... sure... How on earth did you CATCH her, anyway?"   
  
"I just told her I'm a friend of Iilpallazo, and that if she was a good girl I'd take her to see him." Paul shrugged. "Say, you don't know where I could capture an Iilpallazo, would you?"  
  
Anya rubbed her temples as Excel continued to rant on about who knew what, while Paul went on about capturing a new Bishonen. "I think I have a headache now."  
  
Sanosuke put a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go for a walk or something 'till they're gone, or at least asleep," he suggested.  
  
"TAKE US WITH YOU!" her Bishonen, Jacky, and Inuyasha hollered. "No da!" Chichiri added from under his hat.  
  
"A-ano, how about the gym?" Anya suggested.  
  
"YES, YES!" With that, the room was instantly empty save for Paul, Excel, Abby and Valgaav.  
  
Abby looked up, releasing her Valgaav for a moment. "Where'd everyone go?"  
  
"For a walk." Paul ^^ed again and continued to watch Excel. "But seriously, I wanna find a Giru or maybe someone from Fushigi Yuugi."  
  
"Tomo is MINE," Abby declared hotly.  
  
Paul's eyes got watery. Then he said, "Fine, then I wanna catch any of the others we come across!"  
  
Abby faltered. "Demo, demo... if ya do, can I give them hugs?"  
  
Paul considered this. Then he grinned. "Only if I can glomp your future Bishies!" he said.  
  
"Deal!" Abby ^.^ed and latched onto Valgaav again.  
  
"Oh, Gods save me please," Valgaav choked.  
  
~*~  
  
A few minutes later, the rest of the group was at the gym in the training room. Most were panting; they'd all run as fast as they could out of the hotel. Kenshin was now in Anya's arms, simply smiling at the lot of them. Jacky leaned against Inuyasha, who only tried to shove her off once.   
  
"Well... that was special," Anya managed.  
  
"Yeah, no da," Chichiri agreed. He put a hand on her shoulder, and pointedly glanced at Sano before looking back at her. Even with his mask on, she could tell he was slightly worried about what had happened.  
  
She flashed him a smile. "It's mmkay, Chiri," she assured him.  
  
He gave a small smile back and moved away again. "Well, we came up with our plan for now, no da."  
  
"And that is?" Sano asked.  
  
Chichiri glanced at him, then at the others. "It was Jacky-dono's idea, actually. She suggested we train in the gyms, so we're in a public area. Whoever's after trainers and their Bishonen most likely wouldn't dare try to get a hold of us, at least, in the gym. Even if we're tired, no da."  
  
"Really? Great idea, Jacky!" Anya said.  
  
She smiled and rubbed the back of her head. "Aw, it was nothing."  
  
"Yeah, well, you certainly WEIGH somethin'. Get offa me," Inuyasha growled.  
  
The two trainers got daggers in their eyes and stared at him. "You say something?" Jacky asked, reaching out to touch his necklace warningly. "Care to repeat it?"  
  
"Ah... no, thanks."  
  
"I thought so." She leaned against him all the more, smiling.  
  
"Women..."  
  
"Well, since we're here, let's get to work!" Sanosuke announced. "Missie, ya coming with me an' Kenshin?"  
  
"Sure! How about we all just stay in this area for now?" Anya scanned the huge gym. "We should all have enough room, there isn't anyone else out right now."  
  
"Yeah, most people are having lunch or tea or something now," Jacky said. "They'll probably come in later, so let's use this time to our advantage."  
  
"Good idea, no da," Chichiri said. Then puzzlement crossed his face. "Whatcha gonna do with Sanosuke, Anya-dono no da?"  
  
"Sano's giving me some self-defense tips," Anya replied. "Come on, Sano."  
  
Grinning, said Bishonen obliged.  
  
~*~ 45 Minutes Later ~*~  
  
"Okay, no more. I so quit."  
  
Sanosuke snorted and crossed his arms. "Please. You're barely pushing yourself past your old limit. Try again."  
  
"Hey, I know when I'm tired and when I'm not. I'm not pushin' it the first lesson, Sanosuke." Anya ran a hand through her hair and leaned against a nearby wall. The cool cement felt good against her head and neck.  
  
"Fine, whatever." But he nodded in approval. "Yer punches aren't bad," he said.  
  
"Thanks. Is there water around here?"   
  
Sano pointed to a water fountain and smirked. Anya sweat-dropped; it was across the gym. "Right over there."  
  
"I don't suppose you'd carry me, would you?" she asked.  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Aw... I'll live." She slid into a sitting position.  
  
The two were silent for a while. Anya surveyed the rest of the group. Chichiri was sitting in a nearby corner, meditating. Chibi Kenshin was slamming his wooden sword repeatedly into a kicking bag. He was doing pretty well, actually. Inuyasha was in the center of the huge gym, practicing what seemed to be sword forms, while Jacky watched him carefully for any mess-ups. Miroku, who'd gotten out of his Bish-ball, was also meditating, but only half-heartedly. Shippou was asleep next to him. Heero was working on some punching bags himself, a few feet away.  
  
Then new voices caught Anya's attention.  
  
"Guys, will you stop it already?"   
  
"Ha! I got 'er! Ya owe me, Kurama!"  
  
"I do not owe you anything, Tasuki."  
  
"Aw, c'mon, look at her! She's red as a beet! I get that gold piece, an' ya know it! Pay up!"  
  
Anya heard an audible sigh. "Very well."  
  
"Jeez, can't you guys find something better to bet over?" the first voice asked.  
  
"Nope, it's much more fun teasin' ya," Tasuki's voice responded.  
  
"Darn..."  
  
Out of the nearby entrance to the gym came a young woman with three Bishonen in tow. Two of them were obviously Kurama and Tasuki, the two Bishonen they'd heard talking about money. The third was a Hiei. The girl had short brown hair and dark eyes, and a fairly pale complexion. At least, she would if she hadn't been bright red at the moment.   
  
The girl's blush disappeared, however, when she realized the gym had other trainers and Bishies in it. "Ne, what's up?" she said, approaching Anya.  
  
Anya smiled. "Hi, I'm Anya."  
  
"I'm Kimiko. Wow, you look tired. Training with your Bishies?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Cool." Kimiko smiled. "Are all of these yours?" she asked, indicating the entire gym.  
  
Anya shook her head. "Nah, Jacky caught a few of them."  
  
"Who?"  
  
Anya pointed at the other trainer.  
  
Kimiko blinked. "Wow, I thought she was Kagome!" she exclaimed, then blushed slightly.  
  
Kurama suddenly commented to Tasuki, "She just embarrassed herself. Who gets the money this time?"  
  
"Ain't sure. Eh, let's just let it go like usual."  
  
"Very well."  
  
Kimiko sighed. "Will you two STOP that?"  
  
"Nope." Both ^^ed, though Tasuki added in a fanged grin.  
  
"At least Hiei's sane," Kimiko muttered to Anya, who laughed.  
  
Hiei smirked and crossed his arms. "At least as far as we all know," he commented.   
  
"You're right, sometimes it is hard to tell when you're driving like a bat out of hell," Kimiko said.   
  
"I do NOT drive like that!"  
  
"You do too," Kurama cut in.  
  
"Hmph. See if I ever drive you guys anywhere."  
  
"Whatever," Tasuki said, waving his free hand. In the other hand he held a huge, silver, metal tessen that rested on his shoulder. "I still say I drive better 'n all o' ya."  
  
"Riiiight," his companions drawled.  
  
Before he could respond Anya cut in.  
  
"Anyway," she said. "I caught Sano here, that Kenshin, Chichiri and Heero. Jacky has everyone else."  
  
Kimiko nodded politely at Sano, though her eyes didn't quite meet his. "Um, hi." Then her eyes fell on Chibi Kenshin. "Oh, my God! That's your Kenshin? He's so kawaii!"  
  
The Tasuki's eyes suddenly went guarded. "He's a Chibi." The other two Bishonen became very, very silent and tense.  
  
Anya sighed. "Here we go again." She pulled out her Bish-dex. "List Chibi Kenshin's stats," she told it.  
  
The thing beeped in reply. "Chibi Kenshin, no nickname, stage Chibi. Caught by consent of Himura Kenshin, not caught, stage Sama..."  
  
Tasuki and the other Bishonen visibly relaxed. "Ah, s'all right then," Tasuki said cheerfully. He pulled out a bottle and offered it to Anya. "Sake?"  
  
"Ah... Sano, you want some?"  
  
Sanosuke's eyes widened eagerly. "Sure!"  
  
Tasuki grinned. "Finally, anot'er guy who likes sake!"  
  
"More'n you, I bet!"  
  
"Ha, how much ya wanna bet on that, headband boy?"  
  
"Headband BOY? You're at least a foot shorter than me!" Sano declared.  
  
Tasuki waved the bottle of sake. He took a deep drink, finishing off about half of it in one gulp. "Ah." Then he tossed the rest at Sano. The other Bishonen did the same. "Yosh! Let's go find a bar, ne?"  
  
Anya hung her head as Sano turned to her, eager as a small puppy. "Can I, can I? Just for an hour or two?" he asked.  
  
She sighed. "Fine. Just... try not to get too drunk, ne?"  
  
"Alright! Arigatou!" Sano suddenly hugged her. Then he marched off, arm in arm with Tasuki.  
  
"Hey, Tasuki-kun!" Kimiko called. "Tasuki?"  
  
"Be back in a while! Don't let Kurama get t' ya!" Tasuki hollered. Then the two Bishonen were gone.  
  
Anya smiled. "So much for guarding his trainer," she muttered.  
  
"So much for them watching over us," Kimiko said, grinning.   
  
"Yeah, really."  
  
Both laughed a little. Then Kimiko said, "So how long have you been in this world?"  
  
"Oh me?" Anya did her best to mentally count up the days. "Um, I think a few weeks, maybe a couple months now. Whew. What about you?"  
  
"I've been here about a year," Kimiko said.   
  
"Cool."  
  
"Ne, I was wondering," Kimiko said. "Have you seen a trainer named MorTae around?"  
  
"Uh... never heard of 'em," Anya replied.  
  
"She's got really silver hair and bright green eyes. Kind of think Sephiroth if you ever played Final Fantasy."  
  
"Ooh, like Mako-green eyes? That's awesome!"  
  
"Yeah. And she's got all Bakura Bishonen."  
  
"Bakura Bishonen?"  
  
"Yeah. Like, Ryou Bakura, Yami Bakura, and Ancient Egypt Bakura."  
  
Anya blinked. "Whoa. That's a lot of different types of the same Bishie."  
  
"Yeah, that's what I said when I first met her. It's amazing at first, but after a while you learn how to tell them apart. Like the Yami's always trying to get a hold of something sharp or otherwise dangerous, Ryou's always the peaceful one hiding under the table, and the Thief Bakura is the one always with his hand in your pocket going for your money."  
  
"Ah." Anya grinned. "Sounds like a handful."  
  
"She's obsessed with Yu-Gi-Oh stuff." Kimiko shrugged and smiled. "Me, I like a few more animes at once. But, we've been travelling together for the past few months, and I haven't seen her since last week."  
  
Anya grew silent. Then, "Oh?"  
  
Kimiko didn't seem to notice that the other trainer was acting strangely, though Kurama's eyes narrowed and Hiei stopped leaning against the wall. "Yeah. Her Yami Bakura wandered off, and after a day she got worried so she went looking for him. I haven't seen any of them since." She bit her lip. "Tasuki keeps teasing me and saying that maybe it was a polite way of telling me she didn't want to travel with me anymore, but I'm worried. I even called the authorities, and they have no idea where she is."  
  
"How would they?" Anya asked, trying to keep her voice casual and low. It was becoming a strain, however; ANOTHER trainer, apparently, had been captured with her Bishonen.  
  
"The authorities have tracking devices in everyone's Dexes. So if someone commits a crime, they generally look for the Dex. But they can't find MorTae's Dex signal anywhere."  
  
"...Kimiko, I think I need to let you in on something."  
  
The trainer tilted her head to one side. "Okay...?"  
  
"We- that is, my Bishonen, Jacky and I- have just discovered that all of us and our Bishies are in serious danger of getting kidnapped."  
  
Now Kimiko and her Bishonen blinked. "Nani?"  
  
~*~  
  
Yay! That makes... (Counts) Three new trainers added in! Well, okay, MorTae, you're not actually seen in here, just mentioned and asked after... You'll show up for real later on, honest. But... (Is proud of herself) Ha, I told you I'd add more of you in! I'm good, I'm good... uh, yeah.  
  
Next time! We'll get an update on the laboratory, including the bad buys, semi bad guys, and the good guys! Plus, we'll cut back to Anya and the others to see what they're up to next. But we have to have something light, so we may add in a scene or two on what Tasuki and Sano are doing.  
  
Oh, right! Short descriptions, I've forgotten completely! Ahem.  
  
Tasuki is a kick-butt redhead bandit with a Kansai accent from Fushigi Yugi. He loves sake (as shown here), fighting, and has a purdy metal fan called a tessen that he can use on people by yelling "Rekka Shin'en!" and thus creating magic fire. Ish a very cool char. ^^  
  
Excel is from Excel Saga. I know you're all shocked by this. Anyway, she's impossibly hyper and impossibly in love with Iilpallazo, and one of the only members of the organization ACROSS trying to take over F-City.   
  
Have I mentioned Kurama...? Well, he's a redhead demon from Yu Yu Hakusho. He's generally quiet and very cool and also kick-butt. Um, yeah.  
  
And for your information, Kimiko-san is NOT the bad experimenter lady here. She has a Hiei, but she is NOT. Thank you.  
  
Until next time! 


	23. Chapter Twentythree!

Chapter Twenty-three- Finally Off  
  
Notes- Okay, so maybe I am updating faster than I thought. I'm not complaining, mind you; and neither are you all, for which I am very happy. ^^ Like I promised, here are the updates on what's going on with everyone.   
  
A quick note, sorry, no new people in here now. I'll try and add someone else in next time, promise. Thanks yet again for everyone's patience.  
  
To Freaky Angel of Fire- Yes, I will put you in. I swear. Along with everyone else, I will try my hardest. (Offers cookies as a bribe for waiting a while longer)  
  
Please enjoy.  
  
~*~ Same day, a few hours later ~*~  
  
"Hey there."  
  
The experimenter glanced up from her work. "Oh, hello, Logan."   
  
"How's it going?"  
  
"Pretty good, actually."   
  
She returned her gaze to the computer screen. A complicated set of equations chased each other around the screen in an unending maze that made it hard for Logan to look at, even for a second. He wondered how she'd ever even gotten used to looking at it, much less understanding any of it. Then again, she was the mathematics genius, not him.  
  
"I found another trainer and her Bishonen and brought them here today."  
  
Logan sighed. "You shouldn't capture so many people so quickly, you know," he said. "We'll get found and caught. And, as uncertain about this new development of yours as I am, I don't want you to get in trouble."  
  
The experimenter turned to smile at him. "You've no idea how happy I am that you said that, Logan-kun. But don't worry; you DO want to take care of the half-bloods, right? This is the only way. And as for me getting in trouble, well, my Hiei will protect me from anyone who tries to hurt me. Or you."  
  
The other trainer couldn't help but smile back; he'd always found that smile infectious. "I guess you're right. But try to be careful anyway, all right?"  
  
"I will. To be honest, though, we may not have to do this much longer. I think I've finally found out how to make a half-blood Bishonen catch-able."  
  
"Is that even a word?" Logan asked, amused. He leaned against a nearby desk and crossed his arms.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Catch-able."  
  
"Oh. I don't know." The experimenter shrugged. "If it's not, then I've made up a new word, ne?"  
  
"True."  
  
Logan watched her type on her computer for a while. For a moment, he got the image of a Heero Yuy doing the same thing. Then he shook his head. The experimenter didn't even like Gundam Wing. Why would he think of a Heero Yuy? Oh, well. "So what exactly have you discovered?"  
  
"Hmm?" She glanced up. "Oh, I've found what I hope to be a correct formula. It's complicated, though." She frowned. "You'd have to create special Bish-balls, for one thing. For another, you'd have to get close enough to a half-blood to give him the injection, and if he's wandering around in the wild that could be hard. But if you inject them, the only result- as far as I can tell from this- would be that you could catch them like any other full-blood."  
  
"Well, that's definitely better than having to dispose of the mad ones," Logan remarked. "I sort of empathized with the full-bloods in the wild for having to deal with them."  
  
"Yes, but there was no way for us to get rid of them," the experimenter said. "It would have pushed all of the trainers here to madness themselves, and we don't need that. After all, the more reasonable they are when we let them out, the less memory we'll have to erase and the less we'll have to worry about them blabbing to everyone else about this." She yawned.  
  
"Am I boring you?"  
  
"It's just the conversation. No offense, but it's not the most interesting when I'm trying to work on something this hard. How about something inspiring?"  
  
Now Logan felt a twinge of irritation. "As you wish, my Lady," he said mockingly.  
  
She smiled. "I wish."  
  
Hiei walked in suddenly, with two glasses of soda. He handed one to his trainer, then after a moment of hesitation gave the other to Logan. The Bishoujo trainer nodded once in response. Without a word, the demon Bishonen left.  
  
The experimenter watched him go with wide eyes. Then she opened a new document on the computer and began typing frantically, as though afraid something might be forgotten.  
  
Surprised by this sudden flurry of activity, Logan walked over and peered at the screen. "What? What is it?" he asked, worried.  
  
"I've found it, Logan-kun! Isn't that great?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, wonderful. What have you found?"  
  
The experimenter turned around to face him, eyes wide and shining. "The full-bloods! That's it!"  
  
Logan blinked. "I don't follow."  
  
She stared at him, then hung her head. "Sometimes, Logan, I think that you really ought to go back to school for a while. Lemme put it this way- we don't like half-bloods, right?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"The FULL-bloods generally don't like half-bloods, right?" she continued.  
  
"Okay..."  
  
"So, what if we call on the wild Bishonen to hunt down the halflings? We can send them copies of this injection- once we've tested it, of course- and have THEM do our work FOR us. Then we can just sell the special Bish-balls- once they're tested too, anyway. Then we get the profits, the full-bloods feel happy they got rid of what they think are nuisances, and the trainers catch new species of their favorite characters! It all fits!"  
  
Logan blinked again. Then one more time. Finally, he grinned. "You ARE a genius. We get to be lazy AND rich."  
  
She smiled back. "I knew you'd like it. Now, I just need to figure out how to convince these full-bloods..."  
  
Her eyes went back to the computer.  
  
"This'll be all taken care of before we know it, Logan-kun. I just know it..."  
  
~*~  
  
Bryanna stalked down the hallway. She was unable to hold down her anger at how she was treated; then again, she didn't particularly want to. Yami Yugi walked along beside her, having left his Bish-ball after listening to his trainer yell expletives at the walls for five minutes. He watched her worriedly. The Bishonen seemed to want to put a hand on her shoulder to calm her, but also looked like he knew he'd probably lose his arm if he did so.  
  
Finally, the redhead stopped and took a deep breath.  
  
"Ano... Bry?" Yami asked quietly. "Are you feeling better?"  
  
His trainer punched a nearby wall, nearly rocking the entire place on its foundation, as an answer.  
  
"Eep! Guess not..."  
  
"She has no right," she growled. "I'm sick of this. I am so outta here, the minute I get back Lina-chan and her Ball we are all GONE, Yami. So stick close to me, and keep an eye on your ball. Got it?"  
  
"Um, okay Bry-chan... no problem."  
  
"But first... I gotta create a distraction." For the first time in a half-hour, Yami saw his trainer smile. However, instead of sighing in relief, he cringed. This was not a very cheerful smile. "What say you we do some sabotage before we leave, Yami-kun?"  
  
"I don't know, Bry, that's not exactly right.. I'd just say we-" he stopped when she began to glower at him, her eyes flashing a dangerous red. "Ano, never mind. I agree completely! Let's sabotage the entire place!" he said quickly.  
  
"That's my Yami-kun. But how...?" she mused, tapping her chin with an index finger. Then she snapped her fingers and smirked in triumph. "Of course. When we leave, we take a trainer and their Bishonen with us!"  
  
"All right..."  
  
"How about that new one she wants me to check up on? Yeah, that's perfect! We'll talk to her, sneak her stuff back to her, then you can cause a distraction for her precious Hiei to look at. Then we can use her transporting thingy and get outta here. Maybe we can come back later to destroy that, too! Heh, heh..." Bryanna's eyes glittered in the dim lighting of the hallway. "But first things first, let's go see that new trainer and see if she'll go along..."  
  
Yami swallowed and nodded when her eyes fell on him again. The two began walking again. Yami couldn't help but wonder if his trainer had been around Bakura just a bit too long...  
  
~*~   
  
Miya-chan blinked and glanced up as the door to the small room opened. After a moment, Jessica did the same thing. "What do you want?" Jessica asked in a flat voice.  
  
A figure came into the room- a young woman, possibly another trainer- with a Yami Yugi in tow. The figure took a look at the two trainers, who sat on Miya-chan's bed, then moved over to the other bed instead of taking the usual plush chair. Yami took up the spot on the bed next to her, looking at her worriedly.  
  
"You're the newest trainers here, right?" the girl asked.  
  
Both trainers glanced at each other before answering. "Yeah, why do you care?" Miya-chan asked cautiously. She eyed the Yami, a bit nervous; hadn't Jessica mentioned that a Yami guarded this place?  
  
"Good." The girl looked satisfied. "How would you like to get outta here?"  
  
Miya-chan blinked. "Huh?"  
  
"What are you trying to pull?" Jessica asked, frowning. "You're one of the people who caught us, aren't you?"  
  
The redhead girl waved a hand in dismissal. "Please. I leave that to the others. I just come around and make sure everything operates the way it's supposed to. Only I don't want things to operate correctly anymore."  
  
"What are you getting at?" Miya-chan asked.  
  
"Miya-chan," Jessica warned.  
  
"Let's just hear her out, okay?"  
  
Jessica shook her head. "Okay, then..." She settled back, crossing her arms. "So what've you got to say?" she asked the girl.  
  
The redhead cleared her throat. "I'm Bryanna, in case you had any desire to know. I've just been treated like... something very nasty... by the person in charge around here. So I want out. Only thing is, she's got my Lina-chan in her hands. I'd free her and get her back later, only she has the Bish-ball too. So I need help. If you help me get my Lina back, I'll help you and your Bishies get outta here."  
  
Miya-chan took in a deep breath of air, staring at Bryanna. She glanced at Jessica to see her new friend's reaction.   
  
The other trainer was still suspicious. "Why should we trust you?"  
  
"Look, I got a Bishoujo in trouble and I can just as easily go find someone else to help me and free themselves," Bryanna snapped. "Do you want out or not? Last time I checked you guys weren't that interested in becoming guinea pigs."  
  
The two trainers considered this for a few minutes, mulling over the ideas in their respective minds. Yami put a hand on Bryanna's shoulder, gently rubbing it. Bryanna, however, didn't relax; she kept her gaze on the two trainers.  
  
Miya-chan broke the tense silence. "I'm in."  
  
"Good." Bryanna nodded. Then she glanced at Jessica. "How about you?"  
  
The other trainer considered it. After a moment, she shrugged. "What've we got to lose? I'd rather go home than stay here, that's for sure. I'm in."  
  
Bryanna smiled. "Great. Thanks. Look, I can't stay here for too long; I gotta start mapping out our plans. But I'll put off our friends upstairs from coming in after you by saying you're sick or something. All right, first things first, who are your Bishies?"  
  
She listened intently as both trainers listed their respective Bishies, then nodded. "I'll come by again when everything's planned. Until then, don't draw attention to yourselves." She stood; Yami followed, then the two trainers. "Thanks again. Until I return..."  
  
The redhead left the room as briskly as she had entered, with her Yami closely behind. The door closed, the lock clicked, and everything was quiet again.  
  
"Wow," Miya-chan said. "Talk about a break!"  
  
"Still, we gotta be careful," Jessica said. She frowned. "I hate this, not being able to trust a fellow trainer. But we have to be cautious, you know? Otherwise we might end up worse off than here, though I can't think of a single worse situation right now."  
  
"Me neither," Miya-chan. "Yeah, we'll be careful. Definitely. I don't want any harm to come to my Bishies."  
  
~*~ The next day ~*~  
  
"Aah, on the road again," Anya said, stretching her arms in front of her. "It actually feels good. I guess I really am a drifter."  
  
"Nothing wrong with that, no da," Chichiri said. He walked on her left side, his staff jingling softly as they made their way down the path.  
  
"Nope, nothin' wrong at all with that," Miroku said. He was walking in front of Chichiri beside Jacky, staff also in hand (though his didn't jingle at all). "It's so peaceful, walking out in the wilderness."  
  
"Wow, Miroku's acting like a monk," Jacky teased. He gave her a slightly annoyed look.  
  
"Uggghh," came two moans from behind.  
  
Kimiko turned around and waved at Sano and Tasuki. "C'mon, you guys, let's move it!" she sang cheerfully.  
  
Tasuki groaned. "Have pity, woman..."  
  
"No chance! We got places to go, things to do! Let's move it!"  
  
Sano clutched his head. "Let me die in peace!"  
  
Anya shook her head. "You said one hour, and you stayed out for four. You deserve every headache you get from all that sake you drank last night," she told the two.  
  
"Aw, Anya," Sano complained.  
  
"No aw's," she said. "It's your own fault."  
  
"Saith the prude ones," Tasuki muttered. Then he yelped when Kimiko took his tessen and hit him on the head with it. He immediately fell to the ground. "Iiiittaaaaiii..."  
  
"You WILL be polite to our new travelling companions," Kimiko told him firmly.  
  
"Alright, alright..."  
  
Kurama shook his head. "Poor, poor souls," he murmured, touching Tasuki's head in a sympathetic manner.  
  
"Hey, ge' off!" Tasuki shoved the other redhead's hand off of his hand.  
  
"They really should just stick to sugar," Paul commented.  
  
"Yeah, totally," Abby replied. She and Paul were walking along a little ways ahead of Kimiko, Tasuki, Kurama and Sano, but behind the rest of the party. For once, Abby had had pity for her Bishonen and let him escape to his Bish-ball. "Sugar never gives you hangovers."  
  
"And it's sweet!" Paul ^^ed.  
  
"And it works all the time!" Abby said. "And it's GOOD. Great, now I want pocky..."  
  
"Me too, actually... let's buy some at the next town!"  
  
"Yeah!" Abby grinned. "Then we'll buy all the pocky, and maybe then we'll get some soda?"  
  
"Yup, yup!"  
  
"Kami save us," Jacky whispered to Anya, who nodded and laughed a little.  
  
"Suzaku save us," Chichiri corrected, then added, "no da."  
  
"Whatever," Sano said, shrugging. "SOMEONE save us."  
  
"Maybe if we pray to the sugar god, they'll have pity on us and hide all of their stuff away from those two," Anya suggested.  
  
The group all stopped and turned to stare at her. Chichiri put a hand on her forehead, while Sano began to check her pulse. Chibi Kenshin stood there blinking, not quite sure he understood what his trainer had said. Heero merely "Hnn"-ed and turned away to watch the woods nearby.  
  
Anya -_-ed. "Guys... I was just joking, jeez."  
  
"Oh, okay." Everyone pulled away and continued walking.  
  
The trainer rolled her eyes. Then she turned a little to see Kimiko hurry up to her. "Hey, Kimiko."  
  
"Hey." Kimiko chuckled. "You know, it seems mean but I find Tasuki with a hangover hilarious."  
  
"Oh, don't feel bad. I think Sano's funny as anything, too." Anya grinned. "It's what they do, after all. Pulling Sano OR Tasuki away from sake is like losing your arm to you."  
  
"True..." Kimiko's smile then faded. "Anya..."  
  
Anya blinked.  
  
"Is what you told me about.. Bishonen and all getting caught really true? I mean, you think that MorTae's really been caught like that?"  
  
"I could almost guarantee it, but there's always a chance I'm wrong," Anya said. "I'm hoping I'm wrong, on that score at least."  
  
"Me too."  
  
Chichiri suddenly put his arms around both trainers and went SD, making them both blink. "Don't worry! Trainers are wrong more often than they admit! I'll bet Anya was wrong, no da!" he said cheerfully.  
  
Anya blinked again, then her eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"  
  
"I said- uh, daaa. That wasn't the best thing to say, was it no da?" Chichiri asked. He was still SD, but was now edging behind Heero, peeking out at the two trainers.  
  
"No, it really wasn't," Anya replied, giving him a glare.  
  
"Sorry! I was just trying to cheer you up! Daa!" Chichiri jumped into his hat when she continued to glare at him, and the hat went on Heero's head.  
  
The Gundam pilot blinked, and slowly reached up a hand to touch the hat that now rested on his head.  
  
The trainers paused to see this new happening, and had to laugh at how the hat looked on Heero. The Bishonen in question gave them annoyed looks in answer, but let the hat stay.   
  
"Ne, Heero, you should try that look more often," Jacky teased.  
  
Heero rolled his eyes and continued on.  
  
Anya smiled, shaking her head. Then she had to pause for just one minute and looked up at the sky. /I really hope I am wrong about Kimiko's friend. Just this once, let me be wrong, whoever's out there..."  
  
"Anya, you coming or not?"  
  
The trainer blinked, then grinned again. "Of course!" She scampered off to join the rest of the group.  
  
~*~  
  
Whoo! I hope you enjoyed this. Until next time...  
  
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CHICHIRI AND MY TWO FRIENDS, TOMO-NO-KAKAKA AND SIDT4GURL!  
  
That said, later! 


	24. Chapter Twenty Four! Plans Get Into Moti...

Chapter Twenty-four- And the Plans Get Into Motion  
  
~*~ Three Days Have Passed ~*~  
  
Bryanna tapped her lower lip thoughtfully with her index finger as she looked at a door. The door wasn't that impressive to see; it was made of wood, like almost any other. It was also locked, but that wasn't any problem as Bryanna held its key. There weren't any bizarre carvings or trimmings on the darn thing, either.  
  
No, the trainer wasn't one bit interested in the door itself. She was interested in what lay beyond it.  
  
"It's time to start the plan," she said with a little smirk. Then she turned around, where Yami Yugi and Yami Bakura stood. The former Yami couldn't help but wonder if his trainer and his fellow Bishonen were somehow related. "Ready, guys?"  
  
"I DO get a flame-thrower for this, right?" Bakura asked, eyes glinting.  
  
"Of course, Bakura-kun! I wouldn't do this unless you could get one. Once we're allowed into the weapons' storage room, I'll get you the best one in there."  
  
The pale-haired Bishonen grinned. "Then let's get this moving."  
  
"Despite my doubts about this entire thing, I concur," Yami Yugi said.  
  
"What is there to doubt, Pharaoh of the Past?" Bakura asked with a slight sneer. "I assure you I will not attack you... today."  
  
"Damn right you won't," Bryanna said. "We don't have time for that. You both understand what's going on, right?" Both nodded.   
  
Bryanna also touched the Bish-ball where her Vegeta lay, wondering if she wanted to get him out for this. Then she shook her head to herself. /Nah, he'd cause more trouble than help, despite any good intentions he may have... Especially considering Jessica's Bishonen.../  
  
"Ready?"  
  
Again, both nodded. Yami touched his necklace, almost like one would touch a rabbit's foot for luck. Bakura merely smirked and crossed his arms.  
  
Bryanna pulled out the keys to the door, knocked, then used the keys to open the oh-so-ordinary door...  
  
~*~  
  
Piccolo raised his head as the door opened, and glared as a trainer and her two Bishonen walked in. "What do YOU want?"  
  
"Eh...?" Shin rubbed an eye and rose from one of the cots, where he'd been attempting to nap. After a moment, their other companion, Legolas, rose and looked at these new intruders as well.  
  
"What do YOU want?" Piccolo asked, none too politely.  
  
"Nice to meet you too," the trainer said. "I'm here to break you all out."  
  
The Namekian snorted. "Very funny. Leave."  
  
The trainer glanced at her two Bishonen, as though for support, before continuing. "No, listen to what I have to say. Then you can ridicule me if you wish, but listen first."  
  
"Fine, fine. Say what you have to and leave."  
  
"Very well. I'm here to break you out, like I said. I'm tired of this place, you're tired of this place, your trainers are tired of this place. Thus, I'm taking you all with me."  
  
"Why?" Shin asked, eyes narrowed.  
  
"Because I want to cause some damage to the ***** that runs this place. What better to do than free her captives?"  
  
The three Bishonen in the cell considered this for a moment.   
  
"I've already talked to Jessica, along with another trainer." The trainer smiled slightly when the Bishonen stiffened.  
  
"I've talked to that trainer's Bishonen too, and they've already agreed to do this with me. Now, what I'm gonna do is leave you the keys to your trainer's cell. Your jobs are to destroy a bunch of random stuff, beat the crap out of anyone who gets in your way, and so on."   
  
The trainer waved an arm. "You free your trainer and find your way to the main lab room, where I'll be waiting probably fighting myself. We all use the transport device and get outta here. What do you say?"  
  
"What are you trying to pull? You think we're that stupid?" Piccolo growled.   
  
"Are you implying my trainer is a liar?" one of the Bishonen with the trainer asked. His voice was very quiet, and everyone had to strain to hear it in the room.  
  
"I'm implying that she is lying to us this moment, yes," Piccolo replied. "Now, I'm being a good boy right now because of all of the damn tranquilizers I got an hour ago, but I can already feel them wearing off. I suggest you leave now before I really get pissed."  
  
A strange icon appeared on the Bishonen's forehead, illuminating his face in an eerie golden light. "It would be a shame if I sent you to the Shadow Realm right now," he mused.  
  
"Yami, don't!" the trainer said sharply. "All right then, think what you wish," she said to Piccolo. She dropped two keys on the floor, making everyone jump at the sudden clanging noises. "The gold one is to the main lab, in case it's locked. That's on floor 1B. The other is for your trainer, which is in cell 312 on floor 3B. Check it out if you wish. I'll be waiting for an explosion of some sort in the next hour or so if you plan to comply."   
  
With that, she turned and left the room, her two Bishonen in tow. The door shut, but wasn't locked.  
  
There was a long silence in the cell. Then, Legolas stood and picked up the two keys, examining them for a moment. He walked over to the door, opened it, and peered down the hallways.  
  
"You're not doing what I think you're doing, are you?" Piccolo demanded.  
  
"It's our only real chance we've gotten to save our trainer," Legolas said calmly. "Thus shall I take it with both hands and leap into the fray."  
  
Piccolo blinked. "Even after three months I still don't understand how you talk. Whatever."  
  
Shin stood up, stretched, and created a ki ball in his left hand. "Coming, Piccolo?"  
  
"You too? It's obviously a trap," Piccolo said, glancing at him.  
  
Shin shrugged. "Maybe so. If it is, we'll simply be ready for it. Coming?"  
  
Piccolo stared at them, then threw up his hands. "Fine. I'm surrounded by idiots," he muttered. Louder, he said, "Let's get going, then."  
  
The three headed out the door and peered around for any sign of life. There was none.  
  
Shin suddenly gave a very evil smile as his ki ball grew in his hand. "She asked for an explosion of some sort, didn't she?"  
  
"Very much so," Piccolo replied. He too was creating small balls of energy; it was the most he could do, as he was still recovering from the tranquilizers, but he was certain it would be more than enough.  
  
"Well, let us then search for that which shall create the biggest of explosions this laboratory has seen," Legolas suggested.  
  
"Something flammable, perhaps," Shin agreed.  
  
"Let's see if we can get into a nearby lab or something..."  
  
~*~ Meanwhile... ~*~  
  
"Good, one more time!"  
  
Anya smiled as she watched Kenshin raise his wooden sword once more, and attempted to attack Sanosuke with it. Sano easily blocked the attacks, knocking them away with his hands each time.  
  
However, that wasn't the point of this exercise. Chibi Kenshin was to see how strong he could make his attacks without giving up any of his speed. It seemed to be going well tonight; every time Kenshin pushed, his speed only gave way the slightest bit.  
  
"He's doing well tonight, no da," Chichiri commented.  
  
"Aren't you worried Kenshin's gonna get hurt?" Kimiko asked worriedly.  
  
"Nah," Jacky said. "We all take care of our Bishies. And the Chibi is no exception. I think Sano knows we'd all hurt him if he hurt Kenshin, even by accident." She was leaning against a nearby tree, munching on an apple. Inuyasha sat nearby, seemingly ignoring everyone else.   
  
"Oh..." Kimiko sweat-dropped as she gestured to Paul and Abby. "What about them?"  
  
Anya and Jacky glanced over to the two. They were having some sort of conversation with Paul's Excel. At least, it seemed that way; they were all talking too fast for anyone to really understand them at the moment. The only thing Anya could make out occasionally was, "sugar," "pocky," and "Iilpallazo-sama!" She concluded, therefore, that she had no wish to know what they were talking about.  
  
"All right, we're done. Great job, Kenshin. You'll evolve in no time, heh," Sano said, putting a hand on the Chibi's head.  
  
Kenshin's eyes got wide and sparkly. "Really?"  
  
"No doubt!" Anya said cheerfully. "You've been Chibi long enough, I say!"  
  
Kenshin ^_^ed and hopped up and down, forgetting how tired he was. "Wai! I can't wait, that I cannot!" he declared.  
  
"Then we may instruct him on the finer points of life," Miroku observed.  
  
Anya, Jacky and Kimiko immediately hit him on the head at the same time.  
  
"Itai! What was that for?" he complained.  
  
"Hentai!" Jacky declared.  
  
"Ano?" Kenshin blinked. "What hentai?" he asked innocently.  
  
The group sweat-dropped. "Um, forget it Kenshin," Anya said.  
  
"Mmkay Annie-dono!" Again, Kenshin ^_^ed.  
  
There was a short period of silence as Kenshin climbed into Anya's lap to rest. Then Anya had to laugh as he made himself comfortable.  
  
"You know you won't be allowed to do that when you evolve," she told him.  
  
"Oh? Why not, Annie-dono?"  
  
Jacky hung her head. "Is this kid playing around, or is he really serious?" she wondered.  
  
"Who knows, sometimes?" Anya asked.  
  
Sano was sitting next to Anya, reaching over to ruffle Kenshin's hair again. "C'mon, you don't wanna end up like Chichiri that time when HE was in Anya's lap, do you?" he asked.  
  
Chichiri turned red enough that everyone could see his blush through his mask, while Kenshin remained innocent and clueless. "What was wrong with that?" the Chibi asked.  
  
Sanosuke hung his head. "Hopeless, kid, you're hopeless."  
  
"I'd call it hopeful," Heero remarked. "He hasn't had exposure to anything hentai, therefore probably wouldn't even think of that sort of thing if he kept on as he was as a Chibi."  
  
"Ano... can we change the subject?" Anya asked.  
  
"Sure, Annie-dono!"  
  
"And can you stop calling me Annie?"  
  
"Aw, it works for you, ANNIE," Sano teased.  
  
"You shut up, Uncle SAN."  
  
"Che, women," Sano said.  
  
Anya's stomach suddenly growled, causing everyone to look at her. Even the group of rapidly speaking trainers and Bishoujo (a.k.a. Paul, Abby and Excel) glanced over. The trainer in question blushed and laughed nervously.  
  
"Well, ah, I guess it's time for dinner, ne?"  
  
"Yeah!" Kenshin agreed. "A monster's eating Annie-dono from inside, that it is!"  
  
At this, the rest of the group had to laugh.  
  
"Very well, Kenshin no da," Chichiri said, picking the Chibi up and grinning. "Let's see what we can find to feed that monster, eh?"  
  
"Yep!" Kenshin ^_^ed.  
  
Suddenly, the group heard a crashing noise in the nearby bushes and went silent. Sano clenched his fists, while Chichiri took up his staff and set down Kenshin. Inuyasha lifted his own sword, and even Excel was momentarily silent.  
  
"Can't you make one move without crashing into something?" a voice hissed.  
  
"Sorry, Raist," came another.  
  
"I must admit, I had no idea all of the game you hunted was deaf my brother."  
  
There was a long silence. Then, "That wasn't very nice of you."  
  
Everyone in the group looked at each other. Then Paul smirked and pulled out two Bish-balls, edging towards the bushes.  
  
"Hey! I can see a fire going in the distance, Raist. Do ya think someone's out here?"  
  
"No doubt, or there's a forest fire going," the first voice wheezed.   
  
"Let's go ask if we can join them!"  
  
"Idiot! How do you know they're not trainers?"  
  
The second voice considered this. "Good point, Raist." Then his voice got louder as he shouted, "Hey! Are you all trainers?"  
  
There was a loud thud.  
  
"Raist! Are you all right?"  
  
"Caramon, you... never mind..."  
  
"It's a RAISTLIN!" Paul whispered to the rest of the group excitedly. Then he called out, "Nope, no trainers here. What about you?"  
  
"There, you see? He said they're not trainers."  
  
"Why don't you go and say hello then," the first voice- Raistlin- responded wearily.  
  
"All right, come on Raist!"  
  
"What...? No-!"  
  
The two marched into the firelight then. Well, Caramon did. The other- Raistlin- was dragged along by his brother looking annoyed and mildly resigned.  
  
Caramon did a double take, blinking at them all. "Hey, you ARE trainers!"  
  
He didn't get to say anything else; at that moment, Paul threw two Bish-balls at the brothers. Raistlin lifted his staff, as though to block it, while Caramon tried to shield his brother. However, neither had any effect against the Bish-balls and both were soon captured.  
  
Anya blinked as Paul began to do a happy dance. "YES! I GOT RAISTLIN! And Caramon. But I GOT RAISTLIN MAJERE! YES!"  
  
"Da?" Chichiri asked.  
  
Question marks appeared over Kenshin's head. "Oro?"  
  
The rest of the trainers could only shrug helplessly.  
  
Finally, Jacky said, "Um, Paul?"  
  
He stopped dancing. "Yeah?"  
  
"What's a Raistlin?"  
  
"He's a black mage!"  
  
"Um... right... What anime is he from?"  
  
"Anime?" Paul blinked. "Raistlin's not from an anime! He's from Dragonlance!" he declared. "And he's a mage with awesome powers that almost took over the world and made him a god, but he ended up being caught by Takhsis but that's okay because Palin saved him later!"  
  
"Okay... never mind..."  
  
Paul rubbed his cheek against the ball with Raistlin in it and ^_^ed, while merely shoving Caramon's Bish-ball into his pocket.  
  
The group gave a collective sweat-drop at this.  
  
Finally, Paul put the Bish-ball down and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Habit."  
  
"Well then... Shall we continue getting dinner?" Kimiko asked.  
  
"Yeah, damn right," Tasuki added. "I'm starving outta my mind here!"  
  
"All right, all right," Anya said. "Let's all get dinner."  
  
"YOOOSH!"  
  
"RAISTLIN-SAMA!" Paul added.  
  
Everyone sweat-dropped again, and continued on setting up for dinner.  
  
~*~  
  
Sorry, the chapter's a tad bit shorter than usual, isn't it? Look, Paul, you got Raistlin! Don't hurt me!   
  
Short notes-  
  
Piccolo is a DBZ character. He's a Namekian, which means he's mostly got green skin and antennae. And he's strong, and can control his ki. Don't piss him off. (Nod, nod)  
  
Shin is from the same show as Piccolo. He's got light violet skin and white hair, and is more powerful than Piccolo but that's cause he's a god and all... Don't piss him off, either. (Nod, nod)  
  
Legolas... I HOPE you all know who he is. Long blonde hair, played by Orlando Bloom, Lord of the Rings? Does the skateboarding thing with a shield in the second movie?  
  
Raistlin is from the Dragonlance series, as well as his brother Caramon. The two are exact opposites. Raistlin's a mage with no physical strength, while Caramon is a warrior with no magical powers. While Raistlin despises his brother (mostly because he has to depend on Caramon), Caramon loves Raistlin and would do anything for him. Though Caramon is generally considered slow, he just takes a while to consider things. ^^ Ish cool series! Read it!  
  
That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed this.  
  
Oh! A special note because I feel like bragging. My story has become the featured novel on the Pocket Bishoujo site! (Ish feeling warm and fuzzy) Arigatou, LSS-san!  
  
Until next time... 


	25. Chapter Twenty Five!

Chapter Twenty-five- Escape  
  
Notes- I have a proposition for one of you who hasn't shown up in the fic yet. I'm considering putting a half Bishie who is NOT mad into the story, and I wanted to know if anyone wanted to play the part. You could still be close friends with the Bishies you wanted, of course. Just wondering. I'll choose the first person who offers by next chapter. ^^ That said, please enjoy.  
  
~*~  
  
Bryanna did her best to hide her smirk and plaster on an expression of surprise when the very foundation of the laboratory seemed to tremble. /Finally, it's been an hour,/ she thought to herself as another explosion was heard.  
  
"What the hell was that?" the experimenter demanded, looking up from her computer.  
  
The redhead shrugged. "Someone getting rowdy?"  
  
"Very funny..." The experimenter gave her a glare, then returned her gaze to the computer screen, where she continued to type up something. "Go see what it was. I think it was on the lower levels."  
  
"Why me?"   
  
"Remember your Lina Bishoujo, friend." The experimenter held up the Bish-ball and waved it tauntingly. "Go and see what the noise was, please."  
  
The redhead frowned at that, feeling herself begin to boil again. However, she managed to force it down and keep her face in a somewhat serene expression. "Fine." She turned and walked out of the room.  
  
After she went about two hallways away from the lab, she counted to four minutes, making sure, of course, that there were no cameras or anything nearby. Obviously, it would be very stupid to get caught at this point in the game. Finally, she took a deep breath as another explosion was heard (and felt), then sprinted back towards the lab.  
  
She flung the doors open and forced an expression of shock and worry on her face as the experimenter turned to see what the commotion was about. "Bishonen escaping!" she panted- for she WAS a little out of breath- and leaned against the door for support. /Heh, I am SUCH a drama queen.../  
  
Apparently, the experimenter would have agreed with her by the look on her face. "Bishonen! ...Which ones?!"  
  
"A Piccolo, a Legolas, and some purple guy with white hair."  
  
"Piccolo and Shin? We just got them! Ah, that idiot! I told him to tranquilize them EVERY hour, not every other day! What's wrong with him?" the experimenter fumed. "Never mind." She pulled out some keys and tossed them to Bryanna, while clenching onto Lina's Bish-ball and turning towards another door. "Here, these are the spare keys to the storage room. Arm yourself, get out your Bishonen, and help me hunt them down."  
  
"All right!" Bryanna nodded and turned.  
  
"And get something for me and Logan too!"  
  
"Okay, okay, I got it! Jeez," the redhead said, waving an arm in dismissal and hurrying down the hallway.  
  
As soon as she was out of sight, she pulled out her Bish-balls. "Vegeta! Yami! Bakura! It's time to roll, everyone!"  
  
Three flashes of light later, and the three were standing before their trainer. Bakura and Vegeta had creepy smirks on their faces, while Yami looked determined.   
  
"A little bird told me we were to kick ass today," Vegeta observed calmly.  
  
"We are," Bryanna replied.  
  
"Wonderful! So it's working!" Bakura said. "Let's get my flame-thrower!"  
  
"You got it. Vegeta, I assume you and Yami don't want anything, right?"  
  
Vegeta crossed his arms and lifted his nose. "Me, need some weakling's weapons? The Prince of Saiyans doesn't require such things!"  
  
"Riiiight. Let's go."  
  
~*~  
  
Miya-chan blinked and rubbed at her eyes. Then her eyes shot open.  
  
BAM!  
  
"What the?!"  
  
BAM! BAM!  
  
"Miya-chan, it's our Bishies!" Jessica said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, my Bishonen anyway," Jessica corrected herself. "But the point is, our Bishies are coming! That trainer girl Bryanna kept her word! We're gonna get outta here!"  
  
The other trainer blinked, then realized what Jessica was saying. "YES!" She had to laugh and jump off of the bed, where she'd been dozing for the past few hours. "See, I knew we should listen to her!"  
  
"Oh, you. Let's just get ready for our Bishies."  
  
"You bet!"  
  
/Oh, Hotohori, I hope you're all right after you got separated from me... they never did let me come see you.../  
  
Only a few moments later, the two heard keys jingling around outside their door. Miya-chan began to run forward eagerly when Jessica grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back. "Don't," Jessica said.  
  
Miya-chan turned and was about to question her when the door exploded. "YEEK!" She covered her face with her hands for a moment.  
  
Jessica, however, smirked. "Piccolo, Shin, Legolas! It's great to see you all!"  
  
Said Bishonen strode in and grinned back at her. The first to enter, Legolas, took his trainer by the hands and kneeled before her, looking up at her earnestly. "'Tis such a relief you are well, Jessica," he replied. "I feared for my sanity as well as your safety, for one would be lost when the other was."  
  
Piccolo blinked. "And he still can't speak proper English."  
  
"I can translate," Shin quipped. "He said it's good to see you, let's get out of here."  
  
"I agree," came another voice from the hallway.  
  
Miya-chan turned, and her eyes widened again. "HOTOHORI-KUN!" She leaped at him. "I'm so glad you're okay!"  
  
Hotohori smiled and embraced her in return. "Likewise, Miya-chan. You've no idea how relieved I am to see you here, safe."  
  
"An' don't I get a hug?" Duo complained.  
  
"Of course!" Miya-chan turned to hug him as well.  
  
"And me?" asked another voice.  
  
"And you too, Gohan," Miya-chan said with a chuckle. She hugged him and smiled at them all. "I'm so glad you're all okay... but let's get out of here. She said we're to go to the main laboratory, right? To some weird transport device or other?"  
  
"That is what we heard," Hotohori agreed.  
  
"Let's hurry!"  
  
~*~  
  
Bryanna sat at the experimenter's computer, randomly typing words into the formula that the other redhead had spent hours on perfecting the past few days. "Mwahaha, I am so evil."  
  
"On the contrary," Bakura purred. "This is merely justice, my trainer." He was stroking his flame-thrower as one would a pet cat.  
  
"I must concur," Vegeta agreed. He was busy leaning against a wall, shooting at random pieces of equipment with tiny Ki blasts. As an end result, half of the lab was already in flames.   
  
Yami sweat-dropped. "In any case, where are those trainers and their Bishonen?" he wondered.  
  
"They'll be here soon," Bryanna said. She couldn't keep the evil smile off of her face. "As well as a pissed girl we all know and DON'T love... heheheh..."  
  
Bakura copied her cackle, and Vegeta smirked. Yami once again wondered what he'd done in his life to deserve this insanity.  
  
The door suddenly slammed open, and the trainers and Bishies in question ran in, panting heavily. Bryanna jumped to her feet and ran over to the transporting device, grinning. "About time! Move, move, move! We don't have much time before they get back here!"  
  
Her fellow trainers didn't need any more encouragement; within seconds, they were at Bryanna's side. The redhead began to hurriedly boot up the device and was setting up coordinates.  
  
"What city do you guys want?"  
  
"Any city far away," Jessica said.  
  
"Good. Um, how about Treah City?"  
  
"Sounds good, they've got good restaurants!" Miya-chan said with a grin. Hotohori smiled and shook his head, murmuring about people obsessed with food. She nudged him in turn.  
  
"Step in front of the thing, over there. Okay, put your Bishies in the Bish-balls; it'll be easier to get you all moving."  
  
"All right." Miya-chan obeyed this, and soon Jessica did.  
  
"Ready?"   
  
"Been ready for a while!" Jessica said.  
  
"Then good-bye, guys!" Bryanna declared.  
  
"WHAT THE -HELL- IS GOING ON, BRYANNA?!"  
  
Bakura readied his flame-thrower and trained it on the experimenter while Vegeta turned to see who was yelling.  
  
"Vegeta! Get Lina!"  
  
Without another word, the Bishonen searched, spotted, and zipped over towards the Bish-ball the experimenter held tightly in one hand.  
  
The experimenter blinked and looked at her hand. Then she glowered. The Bish-ball was in Vegeta's hands now.  
  
"Yes! Lina-chan, we've got you!" Bryanna cheered. She turned to the other girls with a sweat-drop on her head. "Sorry. I guess I didn't need you to help me. But let's get going anyway!"  
  
"Oh no you won't! Hiei! Stop her! Someone find Logan!"  
  
Another Bishonen slipped away while Hiei hurried forward.  
  
However, it was too late for them to stop it. Bryanna hit the ready button, and instantly Jessica, Miya-chan and their Bishonen were gone. Then Bryanna hit DELETE so the memory would be erased, and looked at the experimenter triumphantly.  
  
"You insolent little-" the experimenter began. Her eyes flashed. "You don't get any more protection from me."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Save it, or Bakura-kun gets to use his new toy."   
  
The experimenter paled. "How dare you!"  
  
"Save that for someone who cares." Bryanna turned to the device.  
  
"You mean I can't use it now, trainer mine?" Bakura asked with a small pout.  
  
"Well... if she makes one move towards us, as well as her Bishonen, then you're welcome for a full blast," Bryanna decided.  
  
The Bishonen smirked. "Thanks," he purred. "I've always wanted a flame-thrower of my own..."  
  
At this point, the experimenter was placidly standing there with her Bishonen, trying not to even blink.  
  
Bryanna considered the transport device for a moment. /Damn, I forgot that I won't be able to erase the memory of where I went.... Oh well, I can get Vegeta to fly us away as soon as we land and get provisions. Logan's not gonna be happy... ah, I don't care!/ She punched the button and ran to stand in front of the device. "GUYS, NOW!"  
  
Her Bishonen hurriedly complied. Vegeta tossed her the Bish-ball holding Lina in it, which Bryanna caught and rubbed against her cheek for a moment. "Later, *****," she said, and punched the button one more time.  
  
The last thing she heard before she disappeared was, "DAMN IT!"  
  
~*~  
  
Anya blinked and looked around herself, yawning. She stretched, all the while trying not to wake up Chibi Kenshin. She paused to fondly stroke the Chibi's hair before glancing up.  
  
She blinked again.  
  
Heero sat up, wide awake, working on his laptop.  
  
"What are you doing up so late?" Anya whispered.  
  
In the firelight, Anya could make out Heero's somewhat surprised expression as he glanced up at her. "Keeping watch," he replied.  
  
"How long you been up?"  
  
There was a pause. "All night," he admitted. Then he gave her the faintest hint of a sheepish expression.  
  
"You can't sleep?" she asked.  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Anything I can help with?" she pressed.  
  
Heero shrugged. "Just can't sleep some nights is all." He continued on his computer.  
  
Anya watched him for a few minutes. He was so serious all the time, so intent on working on- well, whatever he was doing on that blasted laptop of his. The sudden question of what, exactly, he was doing leaped into her mind with such force that she had to ask.  
  
"Um... are you typing up what we're doing? Or are you working on secret missions or something?" she asked quietly.  
  
The Gundam Wing Bishonen glanced up again. For a moment, his expression was completely sober. Then he gave her a smile. A real, honest to goodness smile.   
  
"What's so funny?" she asked, smiling herself.  
  
"Take a look." He turned around the laptop for her to see.  
  
Anya stared, then started to chuckle. "All this time, I've been thinking you were doing something important! And you were playing SOLITAIRE?"  
  
"Not just that," he said. "There are some good fighting games on here too, not to mention pinball. I'm really good at that."  
  
"Wow. And here I thought you were the serious one," she said, shaking her head. "I'm never going to look at you the same way, you know."  
  
He nodded still smiling a little, and went back to his game.  
  
Anya watched him for a while again. Then she said softly, "You know, you should do that more often."  
  
For the third time, he looked up at her. This time he closed the top of his laptop as he regarded her curiously in the dying firelight. "Do what?"  
  
"Smile. It becomes you."  
  
He considered that. "I stopped a while ago."  
  
"How come?"  
  
"It attracted too many Relenas."  
  
It was impossible NOT to laugh at that remark. Anya clapped her hands over her mouth, trying to hold in her chuckles, but it was so hard. Heero watched her, looking faintly amused, though a bit curious as to what she found so funny.  
  
"Heero, you are too cool. Have I ever told you that?"  
  
The Gundam Wing Bishonen shook his head. "No." He turned back to his laptop again.  
  
Anya figured that was the end of the conversation, however disappointing a note it was, so she lay back down and readied herself for sleep.  
  
A moment later, however, she could feel Heero's eyes on her. In question, she turned to look at him again.  
  
"No, you never did," he repeated quietly. "But I'm glad you did. Good night, trainer Anya."  
  
"Good night," she replied with a grin. "And don't worry, I'll protect you from the Relenas."  
  
Now Heero nodded with a twinkle in his eye, and he turned away to let her rest.  
  
/Bishonen,/ Anya thought as she drifted back to sleep. Chibi Kenshin snuggled in closer to her stomach, and she smiled again. /You think you know them from the show, and they go and surprise you like that... heh.../  
  
~*~  
  
Yatta! And the group at the lab makes a successful getaway! What's the experimenter gonna do now, I wonder? ^^  
  
May I say I'm happy you're all glad of the quick updates? Thanks again for all of the great and encouraging reviews. Please check in next time on BISHONEN AND BISHOUJO! 


	26. Chapter Twenty Six! An Unexpected Group ...

Chapter Twenty-six- Anger, Competition, and Surprises  
  
~*~  
  
Hiei was scared.   
  
It was really hard to even make the Bishonen blink, most times, but right now he was pretty much scared out of his wits. He stayed as quiet as he possibly could, keeping himself alert, but made sure he didn't move much beyond the corner he was huddled in.  
  
Why so scared?  
  
His trainer, the experimenter, was pacing back and forth, cursing. Normally, she didn't scare him that badly. Usually, one would find her swearing a humorous thing, as she had little to no ability in cursing. However, she suddenly seemed quite fluent in it, sometimes mumbling, sometimes shouting the phrases that would make even the bravest of Bishonen cringe.  
  
So there he sat, trying not to make a sound for fear that he would become the target for the harsh words coming out of her mouth. And he was worried that if she did that, he'd have to protect himself and hurt her in the process. No, it was much better to sit where he was.  
  
Logan, however, was not bound by Hiei's concerns.  
  
"Try to calm down," he said, walking over to the other trainer. "You won't get any further in your ideals if you don't take that first step."  
  
"How CAN I calm down?!" the experimenter demanded, turning to glare at him. "Logan, LOOK AT THIS!" She gestured to the computer screen.  
  
The trainer obeyed, and blinked at what was on the screen. "Looks like they messed with your formula a bit."  
  
"Logan, I hadn't made a copy of this yet! That ***** you call your friend mixed up my formulas, and added in the STUPIDEST remarks. Look at this- what does she mean by 'Super-powered duck'?! Or..."  
  
"Okay, okay. Just do me a favor and take a deep breath, will you?" Logan asked, raising his hands in defense. "That's all I ask of you right now. Can you do that?"  
  
"...All right." She obeyed and took a breath, making Hiei relax. "Okay... I can handle this. I can." She took another deep breath. "But Logan, it took me months to find..."  
  
"I know. But you've still got most of it in there. It's just a shame she didn't forget to exit your program or we could just undo it." Logan peered down, inspecting the screen again. "Well, first off you should delete all of the stuff you KNOW wasn't in the formula. Like the super-powered duck thing."  
  
"Right." The experimenter sat down at her desk, staring at the screen again. "Damn it... Logan, I hope you know your friend's going to be my next target."  
  
He sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that. Just so you know, if you go after Bry, I'm not going to help you on that one."  
  
"Understood. Just don't interfere, got it?"  
  
"...Yes."  
  
The two were silent for the next while, the only sound being the clicking of the keys as the experimenter went back to work on her formulas.  
  
Yet, while the room had become calmer than before, Hiei decided it was still best to get out of there and let his trainer steam by herself for a while. So leave he did.  
  
~*~  
  
"Aah, welcome to Treah City!" Anya announced after inspecting a sign. "Why don't we all get checked in somewhere and have a rest?"  
  
"Sounds good to me," Jacky said.  
  
"Me too," Kimiko said.  
  
"What about you guys?" Anya asked, glancing back.  
  
Abby gave a thumbs up. "I'm all for it." She then went back to thumb-wrestling Paul. "Damn it, give me Caramon!"  
  
"Hey, just because I don't like him that much doesn't mean you can have him! HA! Beat you again!"  
  
"No fair..."  
  
Anya sweat-dropped. "Mmkay... Well, let's go on, shall we?"  
  
As usual, someone stopped the group at the gate, who asked to see all of their Dexes before they were allowed into the city. Since Paul and Abby refused to show theirs to the man until they'd decided who would keep Caramon, this took a while. Finally, it took the other three trainers pulling them away from each other long enough to take their Dexes away.  
  
Once inside the city, the trainers each got their own maps, and everyone's Bishonen (and Bishoujo) came out. Kenshin came into Anya's arms, while Shippy rested on Jacky's shoulder. Caramon helped along Raistlin, as usual. The rest walked along by themselves.  
  
Chichiri, who'd stayed out, took a look around before pointing to a building. "That's a pretty good inn, no da," he said.  
  
"Have you been here before?" Anya asked.  
  
"Yeah. With my old trainer..."  
  
"Ah. Well, sure, we can do that, I think."  
  
"Sure it's big enough for all of us?" Kimiko joked.  
  
"Yeah, we'll all be wantin' our own rooms wit' our trainers, o' course," Tasuki said, draping an arm over Kimiko's shoulders. He gave his trainer a wink.   
  
Said trainer blushed and shoved his arm off. "We should probably have trainers pair off at the least, anyway."  
  
Immediately Jacky, Anya and Kimiko said, "I'm not staying with Paul or Abby."  
  
The named trainers glanced up, and pointed at themselves in question. Then Abby shrugged and turned back to Caramon. "Come on, you're so cool and awesome and can I please catch you instead of Paul?" she begged.  
  
"Only if Raist comes with me," Caramon stated for the third time.  
  
"Not a chance, brother," Raistlin whispered.  
  
"But Raist, I need to take care of you-"  
  
"And I need you to leave me alone for a while!" Raistlin snapped.   
  
"Aw, Raist, that wasn't very nice, you know I need you for twice-times and divisors, while you need me..."  
  
They were interrupted when Raistlin got into a coughing fit. It was bad enough for the entire group to have to stop, blocking the entire sidewalk for a few minutes.  
  
"Raist! Are you okay?"   
  
"Fine... my brother..." Raistlin wheezed.  
  
"Damn, that's the twentieth time," Sano muttered. "Can't we leave them somewhere?" he asked Anya.  
  
"Nope."  
  
He sighed. "Worth asking, I suppose."  
  
"Are you okay?" Jacky asked, peering at Raistlin worriedly.  
  
"Will you all leave me- cough- alone?!" said Bishonen demanded. "I can take care of myself..."  
  
Caramon wordlessly helped his brother across the street to the inn. The rest of the group followed.  
  
Kurama, meanwhile, had caught up his trainer and was giving her a piggyback ride, ^_^ing all the while. Said trainer was turning a beet red and trying to think of a way to get down.  
  
"Pay up," Kurama said to Tasuki.  
  
Grumbling, the other redhead obeyed.  
  
"You two never stop, do you?" Anya asked. "Poor Kimiko."  
  
"Nah, no chance." Tasuki grinned, showing off his fangs.  
  
Kimiko's Hiei glanced up at his trainer, shrugged, and continued on without commenting.  
  
"Well, shall we all go on in?" Abby asked, giving a dramatic bow.  
  
~*~  
  
The lady at the desk looked up in surprise when everyone made their way into the lobby. "Um... welcome to Treah's finest inn. How many, erm, rooms?"  
  
Anya glanced around, and decided it couldn't be helped- there were too many trainers. "Three rooms, please."  
  
"Okay. Any special services or, ah..." The lady glanced pointedly at Chibi Kenshin before looking back at Anya.  
  
"Oh. No, I've got his guardian with me so we're fine, thanks."  
  
"All right. Let's see... Here we go." The lady handed over three keys. "Second floor, the last three rooms on the left of the hall."  
  
"Thank you." Anya kept one key for herself, handed another to Paul, then after careful consideration gave the last to Jacky. "How much?"  
  
"You'll pay when you leave."  
  
"Thanks again." Anya turned to the others. "Okay, here's how we'll do this... Um, Kimiko, you're sane, so I'd like you to room with me."  
  
Said trainer blinked from her spot on Kurama's back. "...Ano, sure."  
  
Jacky waved her arms in protest. "Oh, no I'm not rooming with Abby! She goes with Paul!"  
  
"Are you insane? They'll stay up all night scaring the rest of us to death!" Sano declared.  
  
"Aww..." Both Abby and Paul hung their heads. "So much for talking to Caramon," Abby mumbled, while Paul said, "so much for the three-way, all night conversations with Excel..."  
  
They both finished with, "This sucks!"  
  
"You'll live with it." Anya turned back to everyone else. "Shall we head for our rooms?"  
  
"Um, aren't all of you forgetting something...?" the lady at the desk asked.  
  
"I don't think so," Jacky said, blinking. "Why?"  
  
"Well, everyone else who's come here has registered for the big tournament that's coming up next week."  
  
"Tournament?" the trainers asked at once.   
  
"Yes... you didn't know about it? Well, it's not a very big event, mind you, but I'd think that everyone in town would at least have heard of it."  
  
"We just came in," Jacky said.  
  
"As you may have noticed," Anya said wryly. She gestured towards her clothing, which was dusty from the road.  
  
"I suppose so... Anyway, if you're interested you can register in the gym about four blocks away from here. You can check in anytime today or tomorrow."  
  
Anya thanked the lady yet again as they all headed up to their rooms.  
  
"A tournament, eh?" Tasuki said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "That'd be pretty fun... Wonder if there'll be a Tama in it?"  
  
"Even if there is, you will NOT flame him unless you're battling him. Understand, Tasuki?" Kimiko said.  
  
"Aw, you're no fun at all Kimiko," the redhead complained.  
  
"In any case, perhaps if I train enough, I may enter too, that I might!" Kenshin said, eyes shining.  
  
Anya nodded. "We'll have to work on your training a lot, though, if you want to get in," she warned. "No matter how much you want to fight, you're not gonna until you evolve."  
  
"I know, Annie-dono, that I do," the Chibi agreed. "And I'll work hard, that I will!"  
  
"All of us must if there is a tournament or not," Heero reflected, "so such an event may come in handy for us."  
  
Reminded of the problems at hand (trainers getting kidnapped), the group became silent for the rest of the way up to the rooms.  
  
An inner door connected the first two rooms the group saw, while the third was on its own. Paul took up the first room, saying that he should at least be connected to another room if not rooming with someone else. Sighing, the rest of the group agreed. After must ado, everyone also reluctantly decided to let Abby and Jacky take up the second room, while Kimiko and Anya chose the last one.  
  
"I hope you don't mind, but Kenshin and 'Chiri don't sleep in their Bish-balls," Anya said as they entered the room.  
  
"No, no problem at all," Kimiko said.  
  
"I can sleep on the floor no da," Chichiri said.   
  
"Nah, there's a couch," Anya said, pointing to the furniture in question. "You can sleep on that. That's gotta be more comfortable than the floor."  
  
"All right..."  
  
"Na, I'll sleep wit' ya Kimiko," Tasuki teased.  
  
Said trainer rolled her eyes and hit him on the head, though she was again a bit red.   
  
Hiei sighed and shook his head. "Don't let him get to you so much. If blush any more your face might stay that way," the Bishonen advised. Her other two Bishies only smiled.  
  
"So are we stayin' here for a while or what?" Sano asked, flopping on one of the beds. Kenshin took up the spot next to him, turning on the TV with the remote. Sanosuke tensed, but surprisingly didn't leave the room like he had in the past.   
  
"I was thinking we stay here for the day, then go register tomorrow, if that's okay with you all," Anya said. She glanced at all of her Bishonen in question.  
  
"Fine with me, no da," Chichiri said, setting his cloak and hat on the edge of the couch.  
  
"Same here," Sano said, waving an arm.  
  
Heero shrugged, and turned on his laptop.  
  
Kenshin ^_^ed and nodded.  
  
"I'll go with you," Kimiko offered. "Since Tasuki wants in, I'm sure I'll be registering too."  
  
"Last minute registering can be tricky," Kurama noted. "However, if we can get in, I have no issues regarding it." He smiled.  
  
"I'm fine with it," Hiei said.  
  
"Sounds good," Anya said. "Until then..." She held up the phone. "Who wants room service?!"  
  
~*~ Meanwhile... ~*~  
  
"AAAH! GET HER OFF! RAIST! RAIST!"  
  
"COME! BECOME ONE OF MY BISHONEN! YOU ARE SO AWESOME!"  
  
"RAIIIIST!"  
  
"GET OFF OF MY CARAMON BISHONEN!"  
  
"What?! You don't even LIKE him!"  
  
Long pause. "That's true... but... HE'S STILL MINE!"  
  
"RAIIST, HELP ME!"  
  
The mage Bishonen merely sat on the edge of the bed, shaking his head with mixed amusement and disbelief at the trainer's antics.   
  
~*~ Also meanwhile... ~*~  
  
"I wonder where Abby went..." Jacky paused and listened intently for a moment. Then she shook her head as she heard one of Paul's new Bishonen screaming for help. "Never mind."  
  
"We should leave all these strange people to their own devices," Inuyasha grumbled.  
  
"And we're not strange?" Jacky asked.  
  
"Feh. I give a good suggestion and it gets blown back in my face..."  
  
"I did not blow anything in your face. I'm just saying, it's been kinda fun hanging around other trainers and Bishonen. A bit crazy, and with them..." She gestured towards the screams. "Well, it's been scary with them, but it's been fun."  
  
"I still say we should leave." Inuyasha stood up from the floor.  
  
"Why? I mean, you seem to be getting along fine with them..." Jacky trailed off when her Bishonen took her by the shoulders and regarded her for a moment, eyes narrowed.  
  
"Because one of them lost their friend and her Bishies to some maniac who's trying to breed half-Bishies," he said. "If that crazy person caught her friend, there's a chance she'll come back for that girl, Kimiko, and then maybe for the rest of us..." He stopped, as though uncertain what to say.  
  
Jacky's expression softened. "I'm concerned too, but we're actually safer in bigger numbers. Even a crazy will recognize it's stupid to kidnap people in public."  
  
"I don't want you caught."  
  
"I don't, either." Jacky smiled and picked up one of his hands, examining the claws on it for a moment. "I'm glad you're concerned, Inu-chan."  
  
His face reddened, but all he said was, "Don't call me that."  
  
She laughed. "Let's get things set up for the others, then go over to see what Anya and Kimiko are doing."  
  
"As long as they're not with those insane trainers."  
  
Jacky laughed again.  
  
~*~  
  
The next day, the group found their way to the gym that the lady in the hotel had mentioned. To the trainer's utter relief, the line wasn't that long; in fact, it didn't extend too far past the gym's door.  
  
However, the Bishies, this was nothing short of a pain in the neck.  
  
"I'm bored," Sano complained.  
  
"It's been fifteen minutes," Anya said.  
  
"Doesn't matter. I'm still bored."  
  
"Go pick a fight with someone."  
  
Sano started off.  
  
"Whoa! I didn't mean it!" Anya said, grabbing his arm. "Come back here!" She began to be dragged away from her spot in line.  
  
Chichiri caught hold of one of her legs and stayed firmly in place, a huge sweat-drop on his head. "Can't you two ever stop it, no da?" he asked.  
  
"He started it," Anya protested. She was now clinging tightly to Sano's arms so she wouldn't fall to the ground.  
  
"You suggested it!" Sano declared.  
  
"It was a JOKE!"  
  
"Suuuure, right."  
  
"If I wasn't hanging off the ground right now I'd hit you for that!" she said.  
  
"Would you now?" Sano smirked. "What if we keep you in suspension?"  
  
"Ha. Like you could carry me for an hour."  
  
"Try me."  
  
"Guys, no daaaa..."  
  
The two continued to quibble as Chichiri continued to sweat-drop. Paul, after a lot of arguments, had given in to letting Abby glomp onto Caramon for the duration of the wait. He entertained himself by draining three cans of soda he'd bought a while ago and talking to Raistlin, who obviously wished he were somewhere else by the expression on his face.  
  
Jacky and Kimiko stood in silence, watching with amusement as their companions continued entertaining themselves and each other. Their Bishonen were currently in their Bish-balls so as not to make too big a crowd in the line. Also, most of the Bishonen had decided that standing in line wasn't really that interesting an idea.  
  
Chibi Kenshin clung on to Jacky's hand, watching the entire thing with huge, confused eyes.  
  
Nothing particularly interesting happened for the next half-hour or so. The only exception was when Abby or Paul would cheer if they moved up in the line a step or two. Things seemed like they were going to be pretty calm.   
  
Then...  
  
"AAAAAH!"  
  
"OW!"  
  
"ITAI NO DA!"  
  
"AAAIYEEE!"  
  
Three people fell on top of Chichiri, Kimiko, and Paul, apparently out of nowhere.  
  
The entire line began to peer around to see what the heck was going on as the three people who had appeared moaned and sat up, looking around to see where they were.  
  
"Wow, what a trip," one said.   
  
"At least we're outta there," another replied, playing with her hair.  
  
The third nodded, still looking mildly dazed. She tossed her hair back before realizing she'd been sitting on top of someone. "Oh, sorry!" She jumped up, and the other two girls followed.  
  
"Ano... where did you guys come from?" Anya asked. She helped pull one of them off of Chichiri, who had gone SD and had @_@ eyes at the moment.  
  
The one she had helped looked around, then back at her. Her eyes widened. "Anya?"  
  
Said trainer stared back. "Miya-chan! What happened?! How did you-"  
  
"This is Jessica, and Bryanna," Miya-chan interrupted. "We and our Bishies just escaped our captors, but we're all in serious trouble."  
  
~*~  
  
Wai! And chapter twenty-six is done. ^^ I send out a huge apology to those who've been waiting to be added in. At least one new person will come in next chapter, and that's a sworn promise! Until then, I hope you enjoyed.   
  
Ne, a random note for Chichiri fans. I'm a bit slow, but one day I figured out that 'chichi' means 'father' in Japanese. So, if you break up his name, Chichiri can mean 'Father Ri,' as in Ri Houjun! Okay, I'll shut up now... Later! 


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven

Chapter Twenty-seven- Registration  
  
Notes- Okay, I have a minor request for everyone. (Takes a deep breath)   
  
PLEASE DO NOT SEND IN ANY MORE REQUESTS TO BE PUT IN THIS STORY. I HAVE FOURTEEN PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN WAITING PATIENTLY SINCE ABOUT CHAPTER TEN FOR ME TO PUT THEM IN, AND I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY MORE REQUESTS FROM NOW ON UNTIL I PUT THEM ALL IN, DARN IT!   
  
(Takes another breath) Thanks. ^^; Please enjoy.  
  
~*~  
  
"In trouble?" Anya asked, blinking. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
"What in the heck is going on around here? First my Bishonen wander off, then people start falling out of nowhere! What's next, flying pigs?!"  
  
The group turned around to see a young woman, another trainer, watching them with an annoyed expression on her face.   
  
"Be happy they didn't fall on you," Paul muttered, standing up and rubbing his neck. However, he couldn't be upset or in pain for very long; in instants he was back in his own little world figuring out which Bishies he wanted to catch.  
  
"You said your Bishonen wandered off?" Miya-chan asked worriedly.  
  
"Oh, don't worry." The trainer waved an arm. "Squall came back. He just saw a Rinoa. You know how THAT can be." She rolled her eyes.  
  
"All too well, Misha," another trainer nearby agreed. "My Bishonen race off all the time."  
  
"I know! Sometimes it's funny, but it can really..." the two trainers moved up in line, completely forgetting that they had been talking to someone else.  
  
"Oh, okay," Anya said with relief. "Good."  
  
"Where are we anyway?" the trainer called Bryanna asked. She was rubbing her back and stretching a bit, looking around. "And where are my- oh, they went into their Bish-balls, eh? Smart Bishies," she noted, glancing down at her belt. "For once," she added.  
  
"In Treah City," Jacky said.  
  
"Oh, good. That's what I set it for," Bryanna said. She grinned. "Now to get away from here!"  
  
"Eh? Why?" Jacky asked.  
  
"Because then that ***** can't find us," the other trainer explained.  
  
"...Huh?"   
  
"It ties in with us being in trouble," Jessica chimed in. "Look, are you guys busy here?"  
  
Chichiri nodded. "We're in the middle of registering for a tournament that'll be in a couple days, no da."  
  
"That we are!" Chibi Kenshin piped up.  
  
Miya-chan turned and smiled. "Ne, you're that Bishonen I talked to the other day on the Dex, aren't you?"  
  
The blue-haired Bishonen gave her a small smile and scratched the back of his head. "I am, no da."  
  
"You look better without that mask." Miya-chan turned back to Anya as Chichiri's ears and neck turned pink. "Well, if you're that busy..."  
  
"We can come back later," Anya mused.  
  
"Uh-uh, I ain't waiting in this line any longer than I have to," Sano declared.  
  
"You can be so impatient!" Anya said.  
  
"And the hell's wrong with that? It's SENSIBLE! The line'll be longer than ever if we come back later!"  
  
"True..."  
  
"Aah, it can wait until you guys are done," Miya-chan said.  
  
"Miya-chan!" Jessica said.  
  
"What? It can! Besides, we're in public."  
  
"That's true," Bryanna chimed in. "She hasn't gotten the guts to go for anyone in public yet. So we should be all right for a while."  
  
"Okay, it's decided," Miya-chan said.  
  
"There's a restaurant a few blocks from here," Jacky said suddenly. "How about we meet there in a couple hours? Then we can head back to the hotel and talk for a while."  
  
"Sure, I could use something to eat," Jessica said.  
  
Bryanna considered it, then nodded at the same time Miya-chan did.  
  
"All right, we'll see you at..." Anya checked her Dex. "About noon, I hope?"  
  
"Okay, see you then," Bryanna said.  
  
"Wait, what's the restaurant?" Jessica asked.  
  
Anya glanced at Jacky. "The Silver Dolphin Diner," she said after a moment.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
The three trainers walked off.  
  
Chichiri tilted his head thoughtfully. "Well, that was weird no da..."  
  
"Whoa, hold the horses!" Anya said.  
  
Everyone turned to look at her. "What's up, Anya?" Jacky asked.  
  
"That girl's name is Bryanna!"   
  
"Yeah, we noticed," Sano drawled.  
  
Anya hit him on the head. "Baka! You don't remember?"  
  
"What're ya talking... oh." He rubbed his head. "That's right, that guy said she was some elite trainer or other, a friend of his... What's that matter, anyway?"  
  
"It's just a small world, that's all."  
  
"Ack! You will NOT get that EVIL song in my head!" Abby suddenly cried, covering her ears with her hands. Seeing as this freed Caramon, neither Paul or said Bishonen did anything to comfort her on the matter. Instead, Caramon discreetly slipped behind Paul, and disappeared into his Bish-ball.  
  
The line moved up again, and the group moved with it.  
  
"Well, at least we're moving now," Jacky sighed. "Hopefully it won't take as long as we thought it would."  
  
"Yeah," Anya agreed.  
  
"Caramon? Where did you go?!" Abby said, searching frantically. She went so far as to pick up Paul and look under him. Paul sweat-dropped and hit her on the head, causing both of them to fall on the ground. Raistlin moved away and pretended he didn't know any of them.  
  
~*~  
  
Finally, the group made it to the front of the line. There, they could see two women off to one side, apparently signing autographs, while other trainers (and their Bishies) wrote down trainer's names, Bishonen, and so on.  
  
Anya and her Bishonen ended up registering with Cammi, who had a Tamahome sitting next to her and a Goku leaning against the nearby wall grinning and waving cheerfully at everyone who glanced in his general direction.   
  
"Hi, how can I help you?" Cammi asked.  
  
"I'd like to register, of course," Anya said.  
  
"Yeah, I guessed that," Cammi said with a laugh. "I meant which Bishies do you want registered with you, and what categories of Bishonen are they?"  
  
Anya blinked.  
  
"You see, we'll be working with the same rules as in a gym," Cammi explained. "Bishonen with magical properties will only fight with others who can cast magic. Mecha Bishies only fight with others who use machines, etc."  
  
"Ah. Okay." Anya turned back to her Bishonen. "Well, what do you think?"  
  
"I'm in!" Sano announced, banging his fist on the table Cammi sat behind. Cammi jumped and squeaked in surprise, and Tamahome frowned at him. "Fighter Bishonen, Sanosuke Sagara, Sama stage, domo arigatou!" This entire speech was delivered in a cheerful, almost high-pitched, voice that made the group stare at him.  
  
Cammi, however, quickly recovered. "Ah, okay." She scribbled that down. "Anyone else?"  
  
"Hai! Ore wa Chichiri no da!" the blue-haired Bishonen said. He gave the girl a small wave.  
  
"How's it goin', Chichiri?" Tamahome asked.  
  
"Pretty good. You find a Miaka yet, no da?"  
  
"Iie. I'm happy with my trainer," the other Bishonen stated.  
  
Suddenly, an all-too-familiar voice announced, "TAMAHOME MUST DIE!"  
  
Out of nowhere, Abby appeared bearing a huge hammer. She proceeded to hit the Bishonen three or so times on the head before disappearing back into the crowd. She didn't say anything during the beating. However, Anya was pretty sure she heard something along the lines of, "Oh, I'm just a passerby!" when Abby left. The trainer sweat-dropped.  
  
"Itaiiiii..." Tamahome lay on the ground with an @_@ expression on his face.  
  
"Tamahome! Why that-!" Cammi glared into the crowd. "When I find that blue-haired meanie..."  
  
"Daa..." Chichiri sweat-dropped.  
  
"Oh, I don't mean you!" Cammi said with a ^.^. "I mean that girl!"  
  
"I know, no da. She's a companion of our- DA!" He winced as both Sano and Anya stomped on one foot each. "What was THAT for, no da!?"  
  
"We never saw her before," Anya stated innocently. "Anyway, this is Chichiri. He's a magical Bishonen, as I'm sure you know, and San stage."  
  
"Cool!" Cammi wrote that down too. "What else?"  
  
Anya glanced at Kenshin and Heero. Kenshin looked at her hopefully, while Heero shook his head. "No, no one else unless Kenshin evolves," she said. Kenshin pouted at this.  
  
"Okay! Oh, as a routine check, please ask your Dex how many times you've won in a gym."  
  
/Huh?/ "Okay..." Anya pulled out her Dex and obeyed.   
  
It told Cammi, "One victory at gym."  
  
"Oh, that's not good," Cammi said with a shake of her head. "Sorry, but you can't participate."  
  
"What? Why not?" Sano demanded.  
  
"Because you need to win at least two times at a gym to register." Cammi shrugged. "There's a guy to challenge at this one, but... you need to win by the tournament day for me to be able to keep you registered."  
  
"Um, okay. Thanks for the tip..."  
  
"Let's go kick his ass!" Sano declared.  
  
"Wait! I promised to meet Miya-chan and the others at this time!" Anya said, grabbing his arm before he could march off.  
  
"Come on, woman..."  
  
"Look, I'll hold your registration," Cammi offered. "Just show up during tournament day, here, and look for me- we have a couple last minute registers open during the tournament itself. Show me your Dex again and let me see you've got two. Then there'll be no problem! Just look for Cammi with her Tama-kun and Goku-kun."  
  
When his name was mentioned, Goku grinned and waved at them. "Hey, I'm hungry! Let's all go out and eat together sometime after we spar, mmkay?" he called.  
  
The group collectively sweat-dropped, but to be polite Anya waved back and called, "Okay." Then to Cammi, "Thanks a bunch. Well, guys, let's check on the others all right?"  
  
"Sure!"  
  
~*~  
  
"Where are they?" Bryanna yawned, stretching her arms over her head. She glanced at a clock. "It's been over two hours."  
  
"They'll be here," Miya-chan assured her. "Trust me, they'll be here shortly."  
  
"Mmkay, as long as you mean shortly as in within the next few minutes."  
  
"Yeah, that's what I mean-"  
  
"Hello!" Anya called, waving.  
  
"Hi!" Miya-chan jumped up. Then she frowned. "Where're your Bishonen?" she asked the group. "And... where's that other girl you had with you?"  
  
"Oh, Kimiko? The Bishies all decided to train at the gym for a while, and Kimiko volunteered to watch them while we were here talking," Anya said. She sat down next to the other trainer. "She figured it was better to watch them and find out what was up later."  
  
"Okay then... Well, I don't know all of you guys..." Jessica hinted.   
  
"I'm Jacky!" said trainer told them.  
  
"And this is Abby and Paul," Anya said, indicating the other two trainers. She sweat-dropped when she realized they were thumb-wrestling again. "Uh, don't mind them..."  
  
"Okay..." Bryanna sweat-dropped too. "Do they do that often?" she asked, gesturing towards them.  
  
Anya glanced again to see they were now arm wrestling. "Uh, yeah..."  
  
"...No comment."  
  
The group of somewhat-sane trainers pointedly turned away from the obviously insane ones to continue their conversation.  
  
Anya took a breath, then assumed a more serious expression. "So what's this about all of you guys getting into trouble with someone, and having to run from them?" she asked.  
  
The three trainers glanced at each other. It wasn't really a look of unease, like they didn't want to talk about it. The look was more of a 'who wants to spill it' glance, that finally Jessica took up.  
  
"I'll tell you. You see, in the mountains, well, a LONG way from here, there's this lab that's used to experiment on Bishies and their trainers..."  
  
~*~  
  
Waah! Short chapter! (Hits herself) Bad! Bad short chapter! BAD!  
  
...Well, at least it's out, ne? And look! I was good and added more people! Sorry you two didn't have much to say, but you'll be in it more later, mmkay?  
  
Hope you enjoyed! 


	28. Chapter Twenty Eight! I AM EVIL!

Chapter Twenty-eight- Conversations and Plans  
  
~*~  
  
"..."   
  
The experimenter sat back, letting a sigh of relief escape her lips. She closed her eyes, smiling slightly. "Finally," she murmured. "It's back."  
  
Should one bother to look, one would find that the entire formula for giving trainers the ability to capture half-Bishies was completed once again. The experimenter had spent the past few hours straight staring at the screen, testing and re-testing the formula. When she had gotten it right, she had immediately saved it both on the hard-drive, on a floppy disk, and had emailed it to herself. Now, she figured it was fairly safe to assume that she needn't worry about losing the formula again.  
  
"That was close..."  
  
Hiei came into the room then. "Ne, you done?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, just finished."  
  
"Good. Here's that coffee you wanted."  
  
"Thanks." The experimenter took the cup in hand and had a long drink. "Aah, that feels better. It's always nice to have a bit of caffeine to keep you going."  
  
"It's kind of late, you know," Hiei said. "It's almost two in the morning."  
  
"Bah, college kids stay out later. I'll be fine. Besides, if that's the case then I'm on schedule."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For meeting some people. I need an agreement from a few... acquaintances... to get this going." Then she muttered, "And after that, I gotta friend to check up on... I think..."  
  
"Are you asking Tokio-sama and LSS-sama?" Hiei asked, distracting her.  
  
The experimenter laughed at that. "Please! They'd look at what I was doing and find some really dumb reason as to why I couldn't do this. No, I'm meeting people who would be much more beneficial for us, Hiei-kun."  
  
"Like...?"  
  
Then, a dark shadow seemed to cover the room, and both trainer and Bishonen felt a chill. The chill soon dulled, thankfully, though it was still noticeable. The experimenter smiled, while Hiei went into a fighting stance.  
  
"You are the mortal I was to meet?"  
  
The experimenter looked up. "Ah, Master Eclipse, glad you could make it."  
  
Hiei blinked. Then he grinned, relaxing from his fighting stance. "That's my trainer. Demons always make the best negotiators," he remarked.  
  
The Bishonen regarded Hiei coolly for a moment. "Indeed." He returned his gaze to the experimenter. "So, are we to start our meeting?"  
  
"Yes." The experimenter gestured to another chair. "Please sit, Eclipse. I'm not going to bite you. As you can see, and probably sense, I don't have an empty Bish-ball anywhere in this room. Nor do I have anyone around with such things to capture you with while we negotiate."  
  
The demon Bishonen played with a strand of his long, raven-black hair for a moment, then smiled. It was not a warm smile. "You speak the truth. Amazing for a mortal. This should be interesting."  
  
"Indeed," the experimenter said, slightly mocking the Bishonen.  
  
"Now what is your proposition to me?"  
  
The experimenter gestured to the screen in front of her. "What do you see?"  
  
Eclipse barely glanced at the screen. "A human's babble," was the short reply.  
  
"I'm afraid you're wrong."  
  
"Oh?" This was said with a hint of danger in the Bishonen's voice. One hand cupped, as though readying to hold a ball of dark energy with which to attack the experimenter.  
  
"Yes. With all due respect, this is my proposition."  
  
"You mock me. I do not read the human's writings."  
  
"I know. And I'm not mocking you."  
  
"I'm getting annoyed, girl. Tell me what your proposition is or I'll be leaving."  
  
"Okay, okay." The experimenter sighed. Then she smiled and leaned towards him slightly. "What do all Bishies have in common?"   
  
Without waiting for an answer, she said, "They all have less than desirable cousins, known as half-Bishies. Now, what say you we manufacture this potion that will make them as vulnerable to a Bish-ball as a Bishonen. No, what if they were MORE vulnerable? You know more have been appearing lately. And you know people think of them as Bishonen. Heck, sometimes people think that Bishonen AREN'T Bishies and the halflings ARE."   
  
The experimenter spread her hands. "You all just need to fade into the background for a while. Then you can have THEM get caught and 'trained' by the 'trainers'. If you wish, then you can come back and take back that city that a few humans took over..."  
  
Eclipse's eyes glinted. "You are flailing around, girl. Why don't you seek to put them in YOUR category, the humans? I hear it's very... noble these days to speak of equality amongst humans."  
  
"It's complicated."  
  
"Ah. As in, since you created many of these new halflings, you do not wish the creator to be put on the same level as the creation?"  
  
"Something like that."  
  
"I see." Eclipse sat back. "Yet you place them with the Bishonen."  
  
"I want to place them properly BELOW the Bishonen, Eclipse. I want them to be the ones captured instead of you Bishonen. Surely you've gotten tired of losing your scouts to teenyboppers."  
  
"And what have you planned for the Bishies themselves?"  
  
"I plan to make you all equal to the humans, of course."  
  
"So it will be as the society of Dragonlance."  
  
"Exactly. You'll be the elves; we'll be the humans. We stay equal, yet apart. And the halflings shall be viewed on both sides as something... less."  
  
Eclipse smiled. "You're starting to have a firmer grasp on your own situation. Perhaps we can make a deal of sorts, you humans and we Bishies."  
  
"That's what I was hoping for."  
  
"Now then, why don't you explain what's needed for this formula... are you certain we can't just poison them...?"  
  
~*~  
  
"...And that's it," Bryanna finished.  
  
"Wow." Anya shook her head. "I already heard rumors about people getting kidnapped, as well as Bishonen... but this!"  
  
"I know," Jacky said. "It's so... disgusting and, well, racist."  
  
"Yeah." Bryanna nodded. "I never liked her experiments. I was willing to make halflings equal to Bishonen, but that only makes sense, right? I only wanted to be able to capture more Bishies, get more of a challenge in things." She frowned. "Now I'm just a wanted deserter who has to hide behind the masses."  
  
"The ignorant masses can be helpful sometimes!" Excel said, popping up out of nowhere and wagging a finger at them. "They can fight and kill and blood and fight for IILLPALLAZO-SAMA!" This she said with a dramatic pose on the table they were sitting at. Then she paused. "Ne, Paul, when ARE we going to meet my Iilpallazo-sama?"  
  
"Uh... soon?"  
  
"Okay!" Excel ^-^ed and went back into her Bish-ball.  
  
Everyone sweat-dropped. "Anyway..." Jacky said. "So what're we going to do?"  
  
"No offense to all of you guys, but I'm going off on my own," Bryanna said. "She's going to be after me the most, so I'll have to train a lot. I don't want to involve the rest of you all. You're a cool bunch and I don't feel like seeing you used for experiments."  
  
"But if we're in a group," Jessica began.  
  
"Then we'll be easier to catch off-guard," Bryanna interrupted. "If we split up, she'll have to go after us individually..."  
  
"Why don't we involve the authorities?" Miya-chan asked. "Then they'll be able to stop this, won't they?"  
  
"They'd have to find the place," Bryanna said. She shook her head. "And that's nearly impossible. I know the mountain range, but it goes for miles both ways! It'd take months to find it, and by then she would have hightailed it outta there!"  
  
"Well, we don't have to do that!" Paul said. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise. "What? Anyway, I think that if we just talk to the authorities, they'll start keeping an eye on our Dexes."  
  
"Then if someone disappears without a reason- like if they still have their Bishies and stuff- then they could go after them!" Jacky said. "That's an awesome idea!"  
  
"Or they could just alert everyone else," Anya added. "If everyone knows, then maybe the authorities will come up with better tracking devices than just our Dexes- we can easily lose these things anyway."  
  
"They had all of our stuff in a separate room," Miya-chan said. "I mean, everything; backpacks, Bish-balls, and other stuff." She shrugged. "I'd guess they'd wreck the Dexes, but ours thankfully were fine." She pulled hers out. "See?"  
  
"So I'll go the authorities," Jessica said.  
  
"I'll go, too," Miya-chan added. "We should stay together for a while, at least. Then there'll be a witness."  
  
"Witnesses are good," Anya agreed.  
  
"Assuming the witness isn't caught as well," Bryanna said.   
  
"Well, yeah," Anya said. "But a lot of villains tend to be stupid when it comes to the heroes."  
  
"Whoa, when did this become good versus evil? It's just a sick, obsessed woman versus a group of normal kids," Bryanna objected.   
  
"Isn't that what good versus evil usually is?" Abby asked.  
  
Everyone became silent for a moment.  
  
Then, "Okay, so Bryanna's going on her own, and you two-" Anya nodded at Jessica and Miya-chan, "-are going to the authorities. I'm going back to the gym to train with my Bishies and get another gym victory. Anyone else wanna come?"  
  
"I have to," Paul said. "I've never fought at a gym. Do you think I can beat him twice and count it?"  
  
"Um... maybe..."  
  
"I'll go, too," Abby said. "I just need one more."  
  
"I got two from before I met you all," Jacky said. "So I'll hang out with Kimiko, if she's all set."  
  
"Sounds good," Anya said. She glanced at a clock. "Well, how about we head back to the gym? I want to check my Bishies and get ready for another gym battle."  
  
"Yeah, me too," Abby said. "I SO wanna kick that Tamahome's ass!"  
  
Everyone sweat-dropped. "Sure, Abby, you do that," Jessica said.  
  
"Well, it was interesting meeting you all," Bryanna said, standing up. "But if you don't mind, I don't feel like staying in one place and getting harmed by the people I used to help out. I'm heading out."  
  
"You sure about that?" Anya asked.  
  
"Honestly? ...No. But I'd rather do something than sit and twiddle my thumbs."  
  
"You're a Bishie elite, aren't you?" Anya asked.  
  
Bryanna paused. "Yeah, so?"  
  
"Whoa, you're an elite?" Jessica said. "You didn't tell us that!"  
  
"You didn't need to know. Why does it matter?"  
  
"Because if you're an elite... elites get awarded for their efforts by fighting with LSS-sama or Tokio-sama, don't they?" Jessica continued.  
  
"So?"  
  
"So... if you fought with them, you met them, so you know them a bit?"  
  
Bryanna sighed. "Yes, you fight them. Wow, whoopee. Just because I fought with Tokio-sama once doesn't mean I know them, nor does it mean I could run up to them and mention this little problem."  
  
"Why not?" Anya asked.  
  
"Because-"  
  
Suddenly, Anya's Dex began to beep. "Message for Anya from unknown, public information building, Cigam City..."  
  
"Oh, what the heck... Excuse me, everyone. I'll be right back." Anya got up and walked a few paces away so she wouldn't bother the others as they continued to talk.   
  
Bryanna shrugged at her, and started to explain to the others what she had been about to say.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey Anya! Remember me?"  
  
Anya blinked at the grinning, cheerful face on the monitor. "Kara!"  
  
"Yup! Long time no see. How's it going?"  
  
"Uh... great! You see, I got four Bishies now."  
  
"Awesome. Which ones?"  
  
"Ano... Sanosuke, Kenshin, Heero, and Chichiri."  
  
"Those are cool."  
  
"Yeah. How about you?"  
  
"Oh, not much. Me an' Hiei hang around a lot. I did catch a Hotohori and a Duo a while back, but I let them go."  
  
"How come?"  
  
"They didn't want anything to do with me or something." Kara shrugged. "I'll catch others later on, maybe."  
  
"Yeah, you probably will. So what's up with the sudden call?"  
  
"Nothing, really... just wanted to see how you were doing."  
  
"I'm fine... well, actually, there IS a bit of a problem. You know the whole half-Bishies thing going on?"  
  
"Do I ever. So you heard about them becoming more and more common, eh?"  
  
"Heard? I got attacked by an insane one, once!"  
  
Kara winced. "Ouch. That sucks. Is that the problem?"  
  
"Kinda. You see, there's this rumor going around that someone's making these halflings, and making them go insane like that."  
  
"Whoa." Kara blinked. "Not good."  
  
"Yeah."   
  
"Well, what can we do, you know? Who started that rumor?"  
  
"Um, I've heard it from a number of people, actually. There's this elite girl named Bryanna, um, Kimiko, and..."  
  
"Ah. Oh! I'm friends with Bryanna. If she's around, tell her hi, okay?"  
  
"I will."  
  
/Wow, small world after all,/ she thought. Then her eyes narrowed. /But isn't she being a little too laid back about the whole halflings thing?/  
  
"Well, just wanted to check on ya.. have fun with yer Bishies. And don't be afraid to catch Bishoujo either, you know!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, see ya. Call again, will you?"  
  
"Of course! Gotta check up on my friends!" With that, Kara closed the link.  
  
Anya turned off her Dex, shaking her head. /That was weird, her suddenly wanting to hang up. And she looked kinda tired, too. What if something's after her.../ She shook her head again. /No, you've got your own problems. Since Kara didn't mention anything, I'm sure she can handle things all right./  
  
With that, she headed back to the table.  
  
"Who was that?" Jacky asked when she returned.  
  
"An old friend of mine. Her name's Kara, she's the one who showed me around when I first showed up," Anya said.  
  
"Cool."  
  
"Oh, right!" Anya turned to Bryanna. "She said that you were an old friend of hers, and wanted me to say hi for her if you were around."  
  
The redhead stiffened. "You're kidding. You gotta be kidding... Tell me you're kidding."  
  
"What? No, I'm not."  
  
"Damn it!" Bryanna swore. "Did you mention we're around here?"  
  
"Uh, no, only that if I saw you around I'd say hi to you. What the hell's going on, Bryanna?"  
  
The redhead elite trainer glared at everyone at the table. "That girl- no, that *****- Kara, is who is making all of the half-Bishies."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
~*~  
  
Eclipse is a demon from the manga Demon's Diary. He's the main minion of a 'dumb blonde' demon lord named Raenef. He's very evil and cool. And he's MINE, despite what my friends say! (Sees friends shooting daggers with their eyes at her) Okay, fine... I get the first clone! So THERE!  
  
Mwahaha. I am evil! ^^ And to make it worse, I'm going on a trip soon, so I may not update very quickly. (Ducks being maimed or worse by readers) Let me know what you thought, mmkay? Other than wanting to kill me from that ending, that is. Until next time...! 


	29. Chapter Twenty Nine! Short chapter

Chapter Twenty-nine- Hit and Miss  
  
Notes- Wow. That is all I can say. I am so, so, happy that you all enjoy this fic. Well, happy doesn't describe it. I am ecstatic. I am in a state of euphoria! Thus, I shall update on my vacation at my sister's. ^^ Aren't I great? 300 REVIEWS! That's the most I've ever gotten… may I say that I love each and every one of you? (Offers cookies to all) Domo Arigato!  
  
To anyone who has read book five of Harry Potter- The Weasley twins RULE! But, noooo… (mourns about… something…)  
  
Please enjoy!  
  
P.S. Yes, I realize this is short. Hey, I'm updating while I'm at my sister's house at eleven at night. Be HAPPY. "If you work hard, then you're happy. If you're happy, everybody loves you. And if everybody loves you, you're even MORE happy!" Yes, that was an actual quote from a martial arts master. Special, ne?  
  
~*~  
  
"She's WHAT?"  
  
"Yup. Kara's the one who's been behind this," Bryanna said.  
  
The group of trainers gaped at her. Anya was obviously in shock, while the others were mainly confused as to who on earth this 'Kara' was, and how she knew Anya at all.  
  
Then, Anya said weakly, "But, Kara! She was hyper, but… how could…?"  
  
"Tell me, did she give you HER Dex?"  
  
Anya slowly shook her head.  
  
"Did she ever call you before today?" Bryanna pressed.  
  
Again, the other trainer shook her head.  
  
"Then I highly suggest you go find your Bishonen, Anya, and stick with them for the next few days. Kara likes to contact people she knows before she either offers to have them work for her, or before she captures their Bishonen."  
  
Anya immediately stood up. Jacky wasn't far behind. Jessica and Miya-chan jumped to their feet and started for the door. "Sano, Chichiri, Heero… Kenshin! I have to get there!" Anya said.  
  
"And Inu-chan, and my Shippy and Miroku!" Jacky added.  
  
"We'll go to the cops and talk to them!" Jessica promised.   
  
Paul and Abby also stood slowly, watching the entire thing. Then Abby pulled out her Bish-ball containing Valgaav and hugged it. "My Val-chan, I won't let you out of my sight!" she declared.  
  
Paul nodded. "And Raistlin, Caramon and Excel are safe with me!" he declared. "Together we fight, or together we shall fall! HA!" He struck a pose. Then he realized Abby was giving him an odd look. "What?"  
  
"Well, you see, I was kinda thinking… I could help you watch over Caramon! Then we could both watch over two Bishies!" Abby said innocently.  
  
"NO! CARAMON IS MINE!"  
  
"But you don't even like him! Caramon, come to me!" Abby cried.  
  
Naturally, the Bishonen remained hidden in his Bish-ball and resolved to do so until a later time.  
  
"He's MINE!"  
  
"But I want him!"  
  
"Too bad!"  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAH!"  
  
Anya, meanwhile, was hurrying towards the gym again. "Just a couple blocks, just a few blocks," she muttered.   
  
"Anya? ANYA!" called a voice behind her.  
  
The teen turned around. "What do you want, Jacky? We gotta get there, who knows when she'll go after our Bishies!"  
  
"That's exactly why I'm talking to you. Anya, you've been going the wrong way for the past five minutes!"  
  
"WHAT!? Why didn't you stop me?" Anya whirled around and raced off in the other direction. "What if we're too late now?"  
  
"I tried to tell you, but you weren't listening!" Jacky sighed when she realized that that was, indeed, still the case. "Wait up!" She raced after her friend.  
  
~*~  
  
"That's right, sir, there's a crazy woman out there kidnapping trainers and their Bishonen, or just one or the other," Jessica supplied.  
  
The officer looked surprised. "Well, it's the first time I've heard about such a thing, that's for sure. Wait…" He suddenly became suspicious. "This isn't some prank you're trying to pull on me, is it?"  
  
The two trainers proceeded to bombard him with protests about how he could possibly suggest such a thing, about the fact that they were in danger, as were all Bishies and trainers at the moment.  
  
Finally, he raised a hand and they quieted. "Okay, okay. Just one more question, girls. Are you certain those trainers aren't just letting their Bishies free, or the trainers just wanted to go home?" At their venomous stares he shied away. "Eep."  
  
"We know people who've been missing for weeks now," Jessica said. "We WERE kidnapped ourselves, but we thankfully managed to escape. And that was only with someone else's help!"  
  
"Haven't you guys been noticing a strange amount of Dex registrations disappearing? Surely not that many people want to go home!" Miya-chan added. "I know there were at least five or six other trainers in there with us, along with countless Bishies!"  
  
The officer frowned at them, and turned away. He stared at a computer that sat on his desk for a while, considering a report he'd been working on before they had come in. Then he glanced back at them. "You do realize this is a serious accusation you're making here."  
  
"Yes," they chorused.  
  
"…And you do realize that if we don't find evidence, you will be in prison for a short amount of time. Or if we find this person, and find she is quite innocent, you may be sent home to never return."  
  
Both paled, then nodded.  
  
"All right. I'll start looking up things and talking to the higher ups. We may be able to get a grip on what the hell's going on here, both with you and these supposedly missing people. First, what are your names, and can you tell me anything about this kidnapper?"  
  
Both teens smiled in relief, and proceeded to plunge into their accounts of what they had seen.  
  
~*~ A Day Later ~*~  
  
Kara sat back and viewed her newest work with a bit of satisfaction on her features. Stretching, she glanced at the clock; it was now five-thirty a.m., exactly twenty-four hours since she'd had a talk with Eclipse.  
  
And now, after all of their bargaining and discussing, she now had a contract with the demons.  
  
"Now we can really get things moving," she told Hiei, who was reading a magazine.  
  
"Good," he said. "Now are you going to sleep at all tonight?"  
  
"You can if you wish, Hiei. I'd rather savor this moment." The experimenter smiled faintly at him before returning her eyes to the computer.  
  
"You have that saved, don't you?" Hiei asked.  
  
"Yep. On the hard drive, on a floppy, on a CD, emailed it to myself, printed it and hid it ten places… I'm not losing this, Hiei-kun. I am not. I won't have more people turning on us and screwing up my work again."  
  
"Sounds good," Hiei said. The demon shrugged. "Personally, I think you did right starting with the demons. We may not be the most trusted among Bishies, but at least we have the power to overtake anyone who doesn't agree with us in the long run."  
  
Kara laughed now. "Yeah, it'd have been worse if I had chosen something like, oh, I don't know, Sailor Moon people."  
  
Hiei gagged. "That would have been the worst possible choice."  
  
"Yes. Why don't you get some rest? I'm not planning on it, you'll find me here if you need me," Kara said.  
  
"Fine." Hiei shrugged again and turned away.  
  
"I think I'll check on email, maybe look for more trainers," she muttered, clicking on the internet browser. "And… what's this?" She stared at the screen as a news article popped up. "Authorities searching for reported missing trainers? Well, that was to be expected…"   
  
Only half-interested in the subject, she read on through the article, about how at least twenty trainers were mentioning that friends had disappeared. She smiled when a police woman suggested they had tired of the Bishie world and gone home, then frowned at a later report.  
  
"What on earth? They're getting smarter. I didn't think they'd want to start tracking trainer's Dexes. I guess I'll just have to settle for stealing Bishies and using them before they go mad and die on me." She smiled. "Though maybe while they're writhing around I can start working on a way to separate them without causing the trainer OR the Bishie pain. Now that would be an achievement as well."  
  
She nodded at this idea. "Now who should I pick? The trainer should already be a little ways away from the Bishie. That would cause slightly less suspicion. Maybe…" She pulled up a program on current trainers she'd downloaded a couple years ago. Searching through the updated files, she came across a familiar name.  
  
"Ah…"  
  
She smiled sadly. "She's a nice kid, but she's the best choice for now. Sorry, this ain't personal, but… Let's see." She clicked on the name's stats, and her Bishonen count.   
  
Kara's eyes narrowed. "Aha. She didn't mention her Sanosuke was a Sama yet… This is perfect, he's at the gym still working out. And they love to fight, don't they?"  
  
Ideas began to piece together like an overly large puzzle in her head, and her smile became cold, calculating.  
  
"Ne, Hiei-kun, you still up?"  
  
Immediately the Bishonen came to her side. "What's up?"  
  
"How do you feel about luring into the wilderness, and beating an arrogant human Bishonen into the ground this morning?"  
  
~*~ 


	30. Chapter Thirty! To Protect Those You Lov...

Chapter Thirty- To Protect  
  
Notes- Something you've all been waiting for since chapter five or so has finally come to pass. Say goodbye to the old and hello to the new! ^^; Hehe… Please enjoy!  
  
Sorry, once again no one new in here. (Offers everyone cookies as bribes for waiting, then adds plushies of the Bishies they requested) Better?   
  
~*~  
  
Sano wiped some sweat from his face and couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction as he watched yet another punching bag become dust before him. "I am so good," he murmured in approval.  
  
For a moment, the Bishonen turned to look around himself. He was, for the most part, alone in the huge gym.   
  
At least, he was training alone; on the far end of the gym room Kenshin was play-sparring with Inuyasha. Sano gave a soft snort of disbelief at that. Despite Inuyasha's repeated efforts to distance himself, the half-demon had given in to the inevitable and was now giving Kenshin sword lessons. It was as close to playing with the kid as he would ever get.  
  
And in a corner, even farther away, sat Chichiri. Sano frowned slightly, then shook his head at the immediate swell of… what? Something… rise up in his chest. The magical Bishonen was sitting cross-legged with his index finger on his lips, probably meditating or practicing a spell.  
  
Ah, who knew and who cared?  
  
As for Heero, well, he had no clue where Heero had gone. He'd probably disappeared to the bathrooms, or to the next room with that girl Kimiko and HER Bishonen. Whatever the case, he wasn't in the room.  
  
Sanosuke turned back to his former punching bag, which was now a pile of dust and cloth on the floor. Then he discreetly kicked the lot under a nearby carpet and moved on to the next bag.  
  
It was then that his glance happened to pass over a nearby window. His gaze snapped back to the window in question when he saw something- no, someone- move around beyond it.  
  
The fighting Bishonen turned to fully face the window, which was about twenty feet away. He frowned, wondering who would be skulking around a Bishonen gym.  
  
His question was answered when a Bishonen's grinning face appeared to look at him. Sano blinked in mild surprise at this, and then raised an eyebrow. What was a Bishonen wandering around out there and not coming in? Was he still free?  
  
Well, in that case maybe he could get some news from the 'wild' Bishonen. Sano eased towards the window. For some reason, he didn't want the others to notice him doing so.  
  
However, he paused when the Bishonen- a Hiei, to be exact- proceeded to smirk and give him the finger. /What the hell? / Then Sano began to fume when said Bishonen turned around and patted a certain part of his anatomy, taunting him.  
  
Then Sano relaxed and smirked. /Ah, so you want a fight, eh? Why the hell not? / He cracked his knuckles and approached the window, which thankfully was easily accessible. Soon, he opened it and poked his head out. "You want something, you little creep?"   
  
The demon laughed and showed him another rude gesture before turning away.  
  
"Come on, I know better ones than that," Sano said. "You wanna fight, don't you? Well, let's go have one, then."  
  
"You bet I do," Hiei said. "Come to the woods. We'll fight unsupervised there."  
  
"Good. I haven't had one of those in a long while."  
  
"Then you're gonna be beat into the dust, you lazy, decrepit old man!" The demon hurried away.  
  
"Oh, you are so dead for that!" Sano lunged out of the window after him.  
  
~*~  
  
Chichiri blinked and glanced up, sensing a familiar Ki racing away. Looking around, he discovered Sano was missing. "Da?" he wondered.  
  
Inuyasha and Chibi Kenshin paused in their play-sparring so Kenshin could ask, "What's wrong, Chichiri that is?"  
  
The blue-haired Bishonen frowned behind his mask, while to the others he seemed to be grinning cheerfully. Then he shook his head. "I'm sure it's nothing. Sano just left, no da."  
  
"Yeah, out the window," Inuyasha said. He snorted. "Some demon was taunting him. I am gonna laugh my ass off when he comes back beat to nothing!"  
  
"Language, no da!" Chichiri said, glancing at Kenshin.  
  
The Chibi smiled. "Ah, it's okay, that it is. I've heard worse from Uncle San a million times, that I have!"  
  
"Still, it's the principle of it… ah, forget it no da." /I guess I'm worrying over nothing, but I don't recognize that other Ki Sanosuke was following…/  
  
~*~  
  
Sanosuke stopped as he found the demon in a clearing a few minutes later. The Hiei Bishonen was facing away from him, looking like he was flexing his muscles. Where he'd been wearing a tunic earlier, the demon was now shirtless, allowing said muscles to bulge and pulse with his strength.  
  
Needless to say, Anya's first Bishonen could care less. He got into a fighting stance, readying his fists for some serious contact. "So do I get to kick your sorry butt now, demon?"  
  
"I'm pretty certain it'll be the other way around," was his reply. Hiei turned around.  
  
Sanosuke blinked as he realized the demon's skin was becoming an odd greenish hue, and eyes were beginning to open all over his bare skin. "Ugh, how revolting! Must be a pain to take care of all those eyes," he said.  
  
The demon snorted. "You seem to be fairly sure of yourself. You're either very strong, or a fool. Forgive me, but you seem more the fool."  
  
Sano shrugged. "That's your opinion. Suit yourself." With that, he lunged in for the first blow.  
  
He didn't have time to see the nasty smile on Hiei's face.  
  
~*~  
  
"GUYS!"   
  
BAM!  
  
"DAAAAAAAAAA!" Chichiri turned SD. "What is that, no da?!"  
  
Anya stood in the doorway, breathing hard and keeping a tight hold on Heero (who looked somewhat bemused at all of this). Behind her stood Jacky, clutching onto her Shippou and Miroku Bishonen. Abby and Paul, whispering what had been said to Kimiko, stood behind them.   
  
"What's going on?" Inuyasha asked, lowering his sword again. "Can't we get ANY decent training here, or are ya gonna keep BANGING on everything?"  
  
"Guys, we gotta keep together or we're gonna be in serious trouble!" Anya reported.   
  
"…What?"  
  
Anya quickly related what had happened to the present Bishies, adding in every bit of the conversation with Kara she could remember. Finally, she concluded, "So now we're pretty sure I'm gonna be Kara's next target… Where's Sano?"  
  
"He ran off a while ago," Inuyasha said, shrugging. "Saw some demon and wanted to fight him."  
  
"What kind of demon?"  
  
"A… Hiei, no da," Chichiri said.  
  
"Chichiri, can you sense him?" Anya demanded.  
  
"Um…" He paused for a moment. Then he stood up. "We've gotta get moving no da."  
  
"What? Why?" Chibi Kenshin asked.  
  
Chichiri paused to remove his mask and give his smaller friend a grave expression. "Because your uncle's in trouble. Serious trouble."  
  
"Is he okay?" Anya asked.  
  
"Well…" Chichiri paused again. "He's alive."  
  
"What?! We gotta get going NOW!" Anya demanded. "Which way?"  
  
Wordlessly, Inuyasha and Chichiri both pointed at the window across the gym. Equally without words, Anya and Kenshin raced towards said window, wondering just how bad Sano was doing right then.  
  
~*~  
  
Anya climbed out of the window without a problem, but Chichiri had to aid Chibi Kenshin. The Chibi in question silently cursed his small body as this happened, but was soon too busy racing after Anya and the others to care.   
  
/Uncle San's in trouble! He's getting hurt! I can't let him get hurt!/ the Chibi thought. His hands clenched tightly on his wooden sword, which he held in front of him as he ran. Sometimes he used it to beat away underbrush so he wouldn't hurt himself. /I hope we get there and he can help us take care of that… demon guy!/  
  
"There!" Chichiri said. He pointed ahead of them with his staff. "He's right there, no da!"  
  
Kenshin looked ahead as they entered the next clearing. He stopped, felt his breathing and heart stop with him, and thought he might, for the first time in his life, faint.  
  
~*~  
  
Sano, needless to say, was not doing well.  
  
He was no longer able to stand on his feet, as one leg was broken. Well, all right, his injured leg was a bloody mass. He was forced to defend himself from a sitting position, which only made the situation worse. Cuts and new bruises were already forming all over his body. His headband was on the ground ten feet away from him, and his jacket was torn almost to shreds.  
  
Hiei, meanwhile, had only one bruise forming on his left arm.  
  
Anya stopped, her heart in her mouth at the scene. "Oh my God… Sanosuke!" She started to march out.  
  
"Don't!" Chichiri grabbed her by the arm. "Whoever this is MEANS harm, and I'm not having you get hurt!"  
  
"Sano's hurt, you idiot!" she hissed. "I have to distract that bastard-"  
  
"You think he wants YOU to get hurt?" Chichiri demanded.  
  
"Will you all stop babbling and decide what we're doing?" Inuyasha said. He held onto his sword hilt ruefully. "I can't help worth crap cause I'm not helping a human here…"  
  
"…Uncle… Uncle San…"  
  
"Well, what do you want to do then?" Anya asked.  
  
"I'll go out and help him, no da."  
  
"You'll get hurt too."  
  
"It's better than you getting hurt!"  
  
"Guys-" that was Shippou "- calm down, this isn't helping Sano!"  
  
"We need a mission objective," Heero stated.  
  
"Uncle San!"  
  
"I can't take this!" Anya declared, and turned back to the clearing.  
  
Chichiri, Heero, and Jacky all held onto her this time.  
  
"You guys! Sano's hurt, he might die! Let me go! We gotta help him!"  
  
"We need a PLAN!" Chichiri insisted.  
  
"THERE'S NO DAMN TIME FOR A-"  
  
"UNCLE SAAAAAAAAAAN!"  
  
Everyone, including the battle, stopped as a bright glow enveloped the area. In the very center of it stood a sobbing, enraged Chibi who's eyes were beginning to flash with gold.  
  
The group, enemy and friend alike, stared. Everyone was transfixed as slowly, Chibi Kenshin began to grow. The brightness surrounding him only allowed his trainer and the others to see his outline, but she got the general idea of what was happening to him. He grew a good two or three feet, became tall and slim. His hair became even more unruly than before, and much longer. His small, Chibi clothing became mere shreds.  
  
With a roar, Kenshin, now in San mode, grabbed his small wooden sword and lunged at the surprised Hiei.  
  
Time slowed, then stopped.  
  
Wood connected with Hiei's middle, not to mention at least three of his eyes.   
  
The demon howled in pain. All of his eyes closed automatically against any more coming attacks, then disappeared altogether. His skin returned to a normal hue, and he fell, gasping for breath for a moment.  
  
The newly changed (and still quite unclothed) Kenshin stood over him, panting as well. His eyes were pure gold now as he stood before Sano.  
  
"How dare you hurt him," he whispered.  
  
Hiei looked up, and glared at him. "I hurt… who I wish," he spat.  
  
"How dare you," was his only reply.   
  
"You won't do any better than your friend."  
  
Kenshin raised his wooden sword in reply.  
  
The group winced. Any other man would have looked ridiculous with a child's sword in his hands. However, Kenshin managed to make the seemingly insignificant 'toy' a menacing, deadly threat to the demon.  
  
Apparently, Hiei seemed to sense he wasn't in the best position to fight at the moment; his eyes were injured, he was out of breath, and he would have to deal with an enraged, newly transformed Bishonen. Thus, he stood and glared at them all before disappearing from sight.  
  
Sano, who'd been watching all this with a stunned look on his face, finally groaned in pain and fell flat on his back.  
  
Anya blinked and ran over to him. "Sano! Are you all right? You baka! You shouldn't follow strange Bishonen into the woods, especially those stronger than you!"  
  
He managed a small whimper as a reply.  
  
"This is bad, no da," Chichiri said, kneeling by Anya to look at Sanosuke. "His leg's ruined unless we can get him to a hospital NOW."  
  
"Can we take your hat or your cloak?" Anya asked.  
  
He nodded. "Yes." He started to undo his cloak.  
  
"That… bastard…." Kenshin whispered. He was still trembling from rage.  
  
"Kenshin…" Anya stood to put a hand on one bare shoulder. "Calm down. You saved Sanosuke. Let's get him to a hospital and heal him for now, okay?"  
  
The redhead turned to regard his trainer for a moment. At first, he looked wary; then she saw recognition. Finally, he smiled faintly. "As my trainer wishes."  
  
Then Anya looked down at him for the first time, and blushed deeply. "Ah… before we go to the hospital, um, Kenshin, you may want to get some clothes first…"  
  
"You may be right, Annie-dono, that you may be…"  
  
~*~  
  
Whew! Saved! (Cheers) Though Kara won't be very happy. So what'll happen now that Kenshin's a 'misunderstood' teenage swordsman bent on revenge? What about the tournament? WILL I EVER ADD MORE PEOPLE IN?! Find out next time! I hope you enjoyed!  
  
P.S.- I don't mind writing on my vacation. Most of the time, writing IS a vacation for me. ^^; 


	31. Chapter Thirty One! The Tournament Begin...

Chapter Thirty-one- Tournament!  
  
Notes- Yes, as of now I'll be adding people in again consistently. Sorry for the long wait, everyone! And yes, this is a long chapter as opposed to the last few I've sent out. Please enjoy!  
  
Oh, new manga series I know of now follow:  
  
Chronicles of the Cursed Sword  
  
Vampire Game  
  
And (singsong voice) I got the second volume of Demon's Diary... ^^ - Ish happy.  
  
ECLIPSE IS MINE!  
  
~*~  
  
Anya looked up as the doctor came out, and stood. "How's he doing now?"  
  
"He's going to be perfectly fine, dear," the woman said. She smiled. "He's already complaining, so you know he'll be on his feet soon in no time."  
  
"What about rejuvenation tanks, why aren't you using them?" Jacky suggested.  
  
The doctor shook her head. "It's not that serious. I did make him down a few healing potions, and you'll be getting a few more as a precaution. He's to drink them twice every day for three days, mind you, and he mustn't battle."  
  
"But the tournament!"   
  
"The tournament's in a week. Don't worry, you'll be able to go in there." The doctor smiled. "Just make sure you be careful with him fighting. Now then, the healing potions I mentioned are in a cabinet in his room there. He's being given a cream to rub in on that leg too-"  
  
"OW! DAMN IT, WOMAN, STOP THAT!"  
  
"Sir, I'm just trying to-"  
  
"THE HELL YOU ARE!"  
  
Anya sighed and rested her forehead in the palm of one hand for a moment. "Yeah, I'd say he's fine," she said. "Can I go in there?"  
  
"I- I suppose, but you may want to be careful; he seems to be throwing a temper tantrum," the doctor said. She glanced over her shoulder nervously.  
  
A loud crashing noise was heard in the room, causing everyone present to sweat-drop.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be careful..."  
  
"I'll protect you from flying objects," Kenshin offered.  
  
"Actually, Kenshin, I think it'd be better if you found some clothes," Anya said, glancing back at him.  
  
The San staged Bishonen glanced down at himself; he was wrapped up in Chichiri's cloak. He blushed slightly. "You're right again, Annie-dono, that you are..."  
  
She smiled and turned back to the doctor, who was rather unabashedly staring at her less-than-clothed Bishonen. "Um, could he borrow clothes from this Center?"  
  
"Oh, sure thing! Sure! I could lead him there," the doctor said.  
  
"Okay... I'll be out in a minute." With that, Anya walked into the room.  
  
She had to duck as a plastic vase with false flowers hit the wall above her. Then she blinked and yelped as the nurse nearly fell on top of her.  
  
The nurse in question stood up and gave her a glare. "Is this your Bishonen? YOU can take care of him from now on then! I wish you good luck!" With that, she humphed and walked out of the room.  
  
Anya sweat-dropped. Then she turned to the bed.  
  
"Sano, honestly. She's just trying to help, you know," she said, smiling a bit.  
  
The Bishonen opened an eye when she started to talk, then turned his head to her. "No, she's trying to murder me."  
  
"Well, hopefully you won't think that of me," she said. "The nurse said I'm to take care of you now."  
  
"Yeah, sure the NURSE said it."  
  
"What are you implying?"  
  
"Well, fangirls rarely give up an opportunity to see their Bishonen na-"  
  
She blushed. "If you weren't injured I'd hit you right now!"  
  
He chuckled. "Well, nah, I don't think you'd do it on purpose. Unless I pissed you off somehow, of course, that'd be understandable."  
  
Now Anya smiled and went to his injured leg. "Is it any better?"  
  
"It's somewhat better. When that damn woman's not rubbing salt water in it!"  
  
"Actually, it's a healing cream," Anya said, holding up the bottle for him to see.  
  
"...I swear she switched bottles on me!"  
  
"Right." She put down the bottle. "Well, the only thing left here is to wrap up your leg here."  
  
"You any good at that?"  
  
"We'll have to see, won't we?"  
  
About fifteen minutes later, Anya had somehow managed to tangle herself up with Sano in the wrap. The two looked more or less like mummies.  
  
"Well, this is certainly not what's supposed to happen," she said, blinking in confusion.  
  
"No, I'd say not."  
  
"Any chance of getting out of this without calling for help?"  
  
"Um... you didn't tie any knots yet, didja?"  
  
Anya looked away. "Oops..."  
  
Sanosuke sighed. "Then I would say not, unless ya had scissors with ya. And considering our predicament, I'd say it'd be better if you gave any sharp objects you have to me."  
  
"Very funny." Anya shifted slightly. "Am I on your leg? I can't tell..."  
  
"Nah. The leg's fine."  
  
"Okay... Sano?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I really don't wanna call for help right now."  
  
"S'okay. We'll try again."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
There was a long silence as Anya tried to stay off of Sano's injured leg (she had ended up tied down on top of him, more or less). Sano, meanwhile, closed his eyes and was apparently muttering something to himself.  
  
Finally, Sanosuke said, "So Kenshin evolved."  
  
"Yup."  
  
"How's he looking?"  
  
"Pretty good, considering he's naked."  
  
"What's wrong with that?"  
  
"Well, usually you don't wander around naked."  
  
"I used to."  
  
Anya gave him a weird look.  
  
"Just kidding, Missie. Just kidding."  
  
"..."  
  
"So are we gonna try and get outta this mess today or next week?" Sano asked.  
  
"I'd rather try today."  
  
"Yeah, me too."  
  
The two started working on freeing themselves from the tangled wrap. After a while, Anya managed to get out of it and climbed off of the bed onto the ground beside it. She breathed a sigh of relief, and turned her head back towards Sanosuke. She stared, then started to laugh; the Bishonen now looked like a wet owl in a mummy costume.  
  
Sano glared at her. "I fail to see what's so funny."  
  
"You are," she said. Then she started unwinding some of the wrap from one arm.  
  
The Bishonen watched her for a moment. Then, finally, he said, "Who's yer favorite?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Who's yer favorite?"  
  
Anya looked up. "My favorite what?"  
  
"Bishonen."  
  
She frowned. "Why does that matter?"  
  
"Just tell me."  
  
She paused for a long moment, and looked away.  
  
"It's Chichiri, ain't it? Him being the magic user and you sticking up for him all the time an' all..."  
  
"It's not that. Actually, I've never really considered it. To be honest, I had a favorite back home- that is, Kenshin- but now, I'm not so sure."  
  
"Oh?" Sanosuke did his best to make that sound noncommittal.  
  
"Yeah. I mean, after meeting you all for the first time, well... I always daydreamed about meeting you guys, but..." She blushed and sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at her hands. "When it happened for real... I realized I had never really thought of you all as real, living people before. Now I do. And you know, it's hard to say who your favorite PERSON is."  
  
Sanosuke blinked. "So you don't have a favorite?"  
  
"I wouldn't say I have a favorite, per say. More like, I have a Bishonen who I feel more comfortable talking to, cause he's been around since the beginning. And he's a pain in the ass, but that's cool, you know?"  
  
Sano raised an eyebrow, remaining nonchalant despite a now-familiar smugness threatening to rise within him. "A pain in the ass, is he? You wouldn't possibly mean a certain Sanosuke, would you?"  
  
She looked up to give him a mock-glare. "I possibly WOULD mean a certain annoying rooster head, thank you."  
  
He grinned. "And what would a certain Anya say to that certain annoying Sanosuke who doesn't want her to ever leave?"  
  
Now Anya blinked. "What?"  
  
He sat up, groaning slightly at small twinges of pain. Then he said, "Tell me this, Missie. Do you want to go back to whatever world you fangirls come from?"  
  
That too took her by surprise. "Well, uh, I never thought of it, really... I mean, it's been completely out of my mind since that experimenter, I mean Kara, has come into the picture. Then again she was ALWAYS in the picture, wasn't she? I mean..." She stopped and sighed at the confused look on his face. "I'm babbling, aren't I?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"I'll shut up now."  
  
"You do that."  
  
She gave him a glare. "Just because you're injured doesn't mean I can't hurt you LATER."  
  
"Please. I thought you LIKED the fact I was annoying."  
  
"I didn't say I liked that part about you. I tolerate that."  
  
"Then what DO you like, Missie? Blue-haired monks?"  
  
"How can you always turn the conversation to Chichiri? You know what, I'm not the one who thinks he's my favorite, you are."  
  
"WHAT?!" Sanosuke gave her a death-glare. "How could you say that sort of thing? That's SICK."  
  
"Well, you're the one always trying to make Chichiri my favorite."  
  
"I'm not trying to make him your anything," Sanosuke said.  
  
"Then what are you trying to do?"  
  
"..." Sano hesitated. "That's not the point. Do you want to go back to your world or not?"  
  
Anya stopped. Then she said, "I don't know."  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
"...Well, I don't want you to go anyway."  
  
Anya looked up quickly.  
  
He smirked. "At least, not until I kick ass at the tournament and we get that ***** Kara into jail, or even better, outta here."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"...So are you going to get me out of this tangled mess or not?"  
  
"You look better when you're covered up."  
  
"Missie, you are asking for a WORLD of hurt." He smirked and ripped off the rest of the wrap from both arms and part of his torso.  
  
Anya smirked back, edging slightly away from him on the bed. "Come and try me!" Then, "EEK! Sano, cut that out! EAAAAAAH!"  
  
~*~  
  
Outside, the group of collected trainers and their Bishies looked up in alarm at the sudden hysterical screams and crashing noises coming from the room. Then eyebrows rose when another's voice joined the first in the screams, as well as more sounds of things crashing around.  
  
"Is she okay?" Jacky asked Chichiri. "Should we check on them?"  
  
The blue-haired Bishonen glanced up. He smiled. "Nah, they're perfectly fine. Just fooling around a bit, no da." Then he glanced down the hallway. "I'm more concerned about Kenshin. He seems very nervous about something right now."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
~*~  
  
"Ne, Kenshin, you feel warm in that cloak?" the doctor asked.  
  
"Ano, no I'm fine. Are we getting to the clothes yet?"  
  
"Almost. So how much do you work out? You really shouldn't be so modest about all that..."  
  
Kenshin blushed and looked away. "Uh, I just evolved."  
  
"Ooh, still young. I'm only twenty myself, you know..."  
  
"Okay... are we there yet?!"  
  
"Hehe.."  
  
~*~  
  
Chichiri sweat-dropped. "Yeah, he's fine too. Just nervous no da," he said. "And don't bother Sano or Anya-dono. She's probably just trying to calm him down or something."  
  
~*~  
  
"If you don't- YEEK! - stop that I'm gonna- AIIIYE!"  
  
"Oh yeah, Missie? Haha, just try and stop me- HEY, THAT'S A LOW BLOW! GAAAH!"  
  
~*~  
  
The group collectively sweat-dropped. Jacky buried her face in a magazine. "I don't wanna know what's going on in there."  
  
~*~ Six Days Later ~*~  
  
"Aah, and off we go to the matches!" Anya announced, holding her Dex up triumphantly. "Two wins! That guy was SUCH an easy one!"  
  
"I'll say," Abby said. "But then, EVERYTHING is easy for my Vallie-poo." Her eyes proceeded to become starry with admiration.  
  
Valgaav, who was still out of his Bish-ball, sweat-dropped at his trainer's behavior. "Well, at least I AM unbeatable," he said thoughtfully. Then he glared. "But I would STILL like being called Valgaav-sama or something along those lines."  
  
Abby's eyes became teary. "You don't love me any more, Val-kun?"  
  
"Ano, I never LOVED you to begin with..."  
  
Abby proceeded to wail. Valgaav clamped his hands over his ears and retreated to his Bish-ball. Sano started to hand out earplugs to Kenshin, Anya, and Heero. Then he grinned at Chichiri and used the last for himself. Chichiri sweat-dropped, disappeared into his hat and let the hat hang down Anya's back.  
  
Jacky, feeling sorry for her Bishonen, let them all into their Bish-balls too. Well, except for Inuyasha; the half-demon pretended not to notice the wails of "YOU DON'T LOVE ME ANY MORE!", though soon he was covering his ears as well.  
  
"Damn it, shut her UP!" he growled.  
  
Kenshin was the only one who really didn't seem to notice the wails, either with earplugs or without. He continued to either gaze into space with a distant expression on his face, or stare at the ground in front of him as he walked along.  
  
Tasuki proceeded to grab Chichiri's hat and began to yank on it, which started to choke Anya. "Oi! Chiri! Lemme in!"  
  
"Agh... Ugh... Windpipe. Not. Working." Anya @_@ed.  
  
Sano, noticing this, neatly punched Tasuki into unconsciousness. The redheaded bandit fell over, and thankfully let go of the hat.  
  
"Thanks." /Now, we gotta get to that gym and find out if Cammi's still there.../  
  
Anya, lost in thought, didn't realize everyone else had stopped until she felt Chichiri retrieve his hat from her. She turned around to see that everyone was staring at something in front of her. Even Abby had quieted. "Guys, what's up?" she asked, pulling out her earplugs.  
  
Jacky merely pointed.  
  
The other trainer turned, and gaped with the rest of them.  
  
What was once a gym was now a huge stadium, covering almost twice as much space as it had before (and it had already been a huge place). The roof had opened up in order for bleachers to rise up. Flags blew in the air above each corner of the gym-made-stadium, welcoming everyone who came.  
  
"Wow," Anya managed. "That is SO awesome."  
  
"Someday I'm gonna learn how they DO that," Kimiko remarked.  
  
"Yeah, someday when we're busy finding a lil' place to be alone, we'll find the mechanism," Tasuki murmured.  
  
Kimiko blushed a bright red and hit him on the head. "Will you shut up?"  
  
"Now, there was no reason to blush," Kurama stated calmly with a small smile. "After all, I'm sure my fellow Bishonen only meant a small area to train in private. Though... when you're alone, you CAN do a number of different kinds of, erm, training, couldn't you?"  
  
Now the trainer was red all over.  
  
"Pay up, Tasuki."  
  
Grumbling, Tasuki tossed the other redhead a coin.  
  
"I wish you'd stop that," Kimiko mumbled.  
  
"Aw, you know you love it," Tasuki said.  
  
Hiei followed along behind with a rueful smile on his face, shaking his head.  
  
"Well, uh, shall we go in?" Anya asked.  
  
"Yeah, the tournament starts in a half hour. We'll need that time to find Cammi for you and Abby," Jacky said.  
  
Paul sighed. "So much for ME fighting..."  
  
Caramon, who was out of his Bish-ball, sighed and agreed with his trainer. He was looking at his sword wistfully.  
  
Abby suddenly latched onto Paul's arm. "Hey! I could have your Bishie Caramon fight for ME! Only temporarily of course, hehehe..."  
  
The rest of the group sweat-dropped. "Let's keep moving," Anya suggested.  
  
"Right."  
  
~*~ Meanwhile ~*~  
  
"Any luck yet, officer?" Jessica asked, entering the police station.  
  
"Hopefully," Miya-chan said quietly. "It HAS been a week, after all..."  
  
The officer either didn't hear that or didn't care that she had said it. "Actually, yes. There's good news and bad news about this trainer you guys mentioned."  
  
"Oh?" Miya-chan said.  
  
"Yeah. The good news is we know what mountain range she's on."  
  
"All right!"  
  
"The bad news is I can't do anything about it."  
  
"What?! Why not?"  
  
"Because I'm a local authority. Everything around here's local, except for LSS-sama and Tokio-sama, and they ain't here right now."  
  
"Well, can't you contact them by the mountain range?"  
  
"Actually..." He grinned. "That's the plan. I'm gonna let them know to start keeping an eye out over there."  
  
Both girls smiled. "YES!"  
  
"Until then, you two and your friends let me know what's going on out there, got it?"  
  
"Yes, sir!"  
  
~*~  
  
"Okay, so now you've got Kenshin, Sano AND Chichiri registered, right Anya?"  
  
Said trainer nodded, smiling at her three Bishonen. Sano smirked back, Chichiri smiled, and Kenshin gazed into space. "Yup."  
  
"And Abby here has her Valgaav and is borrowing a Caramon?"  
  
Caramon, who looked nervous about the idea, shook his head at the same time Abby latched onto him and grinned.  
  
"All right, you're both good to go," Cammi said, turning off her laptop.  
  
"Ah, thanks a bunch, Cammi."  
  
"No problem! Now, they're matching up trainers in about five minutes, so you won't want to be late. Your friends should be there already, of course."  
  
"Where do we go?" Abby asked.  
  
"Just down this hallway, take a right, and then into the girl's locker room."  
  
"Okay... why is there a locker room?"  
  
"Oh, it's generally just a meeting place, and only used for bathrooms. It's for looks, not for any actual function."  
  
Sano raised an eyebrow, while Chichiri said, "Erm, we should probably wait outside it just in case no da..."  
  
"Don't worry, everyone else will be in there with their Bishies. Now go on!" Cammi commanded.  
  
"All right. Thanks again, Cammi!" Anya called as they hurried.  
  
"You're welcome!"  
  
Then Anya turned to Abby. "How DID you get Paul to let you borrow his Caramon?"  
  
Abby grinned evilly. "Raistlin-sama and I got it worked out between us."  
  
Anya blinked, then said, "Okay, you know what? I changed my mind, I don't wanna know."  
  
"Then in that case, let's get moving!"  
  
"Right!"  
  
~*~ A few minutes later ~*~  
  
"WELCOME to Treah City's annual tournament!"  
  
Everyone in the bleachers cheered at this statement.  
  
"I'm your host, Lady Silver Seishi, and I'll be the announcer for this tournament!" Said trainer winked and gave a peace sign. "Aren't you all lucky?"  
  
A few of the male trainers cheered at this. Paul merely blinked.  
  
"Now, we got the trainers all paired up for their matches and ready to go. Remember, magical Bishonen against magical Bishonen, fighters against fighters, and so on. The match will end if the Bishie in question is knocked out or seriously injured. Deaths will NOT be allowed. The battles are only one-on-one. Other than that, everyone, kick butt, show off your hot Bishies, and have fun!"  
  
Another trainer appeared and grabbed the microphone from LSS. "And don't forget that the gym is also hosting hot dog stands, and T-shirt stands! Buy a T-shirt today!"  
  
LSS and everyone watching sweat-dropped. LSS grabbed the mic back. "Um, thanks for that input... Anyway, let's meet our first two battlers. First up- uh..." She sweat-dropped. "Um, Professor, will you get off of the field?!"  
  
All eyes turned to the other side of the battlefield, where a male trainer in a lab coat was kneeling on the ground. With his back facing almost everyone, it was hard to see who it was. Beside him stood a Washu Bishoujo, with what seemed to be a laptop under one arm. It was hard to tell, though; the laptop in question seemed to be transparent.  
  
After a few minutes, the trainer seemed to realize someone was talking to him. He turned to see LSS and waved. "Hey, there! I've almost got this analyzed! I'm sure to find that Megumi now!"  
  
Sanosuke and Kenshin, who were both listening at the doors of the locker room, sweat-dropped. "Please," Sano muttered. "A Megumi, wander out here in a human's town? Trainers!"  
  
Fortunately- or was it unfortunately? - the trainer didn't hear either of them. "Washu and I are on the brink of discovery!" he announced gleefully. "Soon, very soon, I'll show the world a Megumi Bishoujo!"  
  
LSS -_-ed. "Very nice, Professor. Well, uh, I guess it's all right for you to be out here as long as you... erm, stay where you are... ANYWAY, first up is PIXIE!"  
  
A few trainers in the bleachers cheered and whistled as a young woman made her way out from one of the nearby doors leading into the battlefield. She blinked at the sudden sunlight, then grinned and waved at everyone. A number of people waved back.   
  
LSS smiled at her and offered her the mic. A cameraman, who was nearby, turned the camera on the two trainers. "So, how's it feel to be fighting in a tournament? You been in one before?"  
  
"Oh yeah, and my Bishies ALWAYS pull through for me."  
  
"Cool. Who do you have, by the way?"  
  
"Ooh, I have Vegeta, Sesshomaru-"  
  
"FLUFFY!" Abby hollered.  
  
"Um, yeah," Pixie said, startled. "And I have a Milliardo Peacecraft, a.k.a. Zechs."  
  
"Did you know that Zechs is the German word for six?" someone in the bleachers called.  
  
Pixie and LSS sweat-dropped. "Okay, that's nice," LSS called back. "Anything you want to say, Pixie?"  
  
"Uh... RELENA MUST DIE!"  
  
That raised a huge cheer from most female trainers in the crowd, and some of the males. A couple males were noticed pouting at that, however.  
  
"Sure..." LSS scratched the back of her head. "Why don't you be a dear and... Go over there with the Professor for now..."  
  
Pixie gave another wave to the crowd before making her way towards the other end of the battlefield. The Professor stood there, still examining the ground in question.   
  
"And Pixie's opponent is... Rhia! Come on out!"  
  
There were a few more cheers as another female trainer came out into the light. She looked up at the crowd, then at the camera with a slightly confused expression, as though to ask 'who, me?' Then she smiled and made her way over to LSS.  
  
"So who do you have fighting for you?"  
  
"I've got a Quatre, Shippou, and a Yami Yugi!" she said, absently playing with a lock of her light hair.  
  
"Wow, cool. You got anything you want to say to the crowd, or maybe to the camera over there?"  
  
"Well, actually, there IS something I've always wanted to say if I ever got on camera," she said.  
  
"So what is it? Just say it!" LSS urged.  
  
"Okay..." Rhia grinned and waved at the camera. "HI, MOM!"  
  
Everyone in the stadium, save for Rhia, face-faulted.  
  
Groaning, LSS was the first to stand. "Okay, well, uh, it looks like we have our first match ready to go! Shall we begin?!"  
  
"YEAH!"  
  
"I didn't hear you all. SHALL WE BEGIN?!"  
  
"YES, DAMN IT!"  
  
"All right then! Let the first match begin!"  
  
~*~  
  
Mwahaha, I keep doing these evil cliffhangers, don't I? ^^; Well, hope you enjoyed. And aren't I being good? This chapter is about twice as long as the last one AND I added (counts) FOUR trainers! Only ten more to go!   
  
Other trainers to be- LET US IN! LET US IN! (Bangs on their desks, careful of course not to harm the computer)  
  
One of the trainers- (Bangs on her computer monitor and breaks it by accident) Oops... (Teary eyes) MY COMPUTER! LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!  
  
EEP! (Hides behind her Muses for protection) Oh, and as a note to those reading this on the Bishoujo site, I haven't forgotten you guys! I'll get those of you who requested it in... Hopefully... (Sweat-drops) Well anyway, hopefully you all enjoyed. Until next time!  
  
Washu is from Tenchi Muyo, Tenchi Universe... (Smacks her own forehead) Well, she's from just about any show that you see Tenchi in. She's a genius, scientist person with wild pink hair, and considers herself the biggest genius in the universe. Not that she's that far off, though... 


	32. Chapter Thirty Two!

Chapter Thirty-two- Stuff ^^;  
  
~*~  
  
The meeting was finally over.  
  
Anya couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as she, Kenshin, Chichiri, Sano and Heero wandered through the hallways in the gym-turned-stadium. Even though they had somehow managed to get lost, it was still a relief.  
  
An experienced trainer had shooed away everyone who'd already been in a tournament before, so Kimiko and Jacky had been sent off. Abby had been there, but was probably now chasing someone else's Bishonen.  
  
Anyway, then the trainer had explained how things would go...  
  
~*~ Flashback ~*~  
  
"Okay, we normally have a large number of trainers. Today it's generally only a local tournament so we only have an even 64 trainers. Now for the most part, girls shall battle against girls, and boys will battle boys. This isn't because of the trainers; it is merely because the majority of girls will battle Bishonen, and the majority of guys will battle Bishoujo.  
  
"For now, you are free to go where you wish. At some point, when your battle is about to come up, you will be called on the PA. Make your way to a stadium door and wait until LSS-sama calls you out.  
  
"And for Kami's sake, please DON'T say something that will embarrass you OR us!"  
  
~*~ End Flashback ~*~  
  
"It was all rather pointless if you ask me," Sano muttered. "It seemed like common sense."  
  
"Well, sometimes trainers can be the ditzy type, no da," Chichiri said thoughtfully. "A friend of mine was captured by one."  
  
"Ditzy?" Kenshin questioned.  
  
"Hai no da. As in, they're about half as hyper as, oh, I don't know, Paul or Abby."  
  
"Naru hodo."  
  
Anya glanced at her newly evolved Bishonen. Kenshin had just been speaking in a rather noncommittal voice, and had done so since they'd left the hospital.  
  
Except for that first night when they'd gotten back to the hotel, that is. Anya's cheeks flushed at the memory of Kenshin trying to sleep with her as he had when he was a Chibi. It had taken a great effort from herself AND the other Bishonen to convince him he couldn't do such anymore.  
  
Of course, Kenshin brought up the fact that Chichiri once slept with him and Anya, but that was quickly explained as well.  
  
Now he was almost always depressed looking, unless of course someone mentioned a fight. Then his eyes would turn gold and he'd tighten the grip on a new sword Anya had hesitantly bought him- actually, it was a real blade now.  
  
Impulsively, the trainer caught up to him and gave him a quick hug from behind. This seemed to surprise him, and his narrow eyes widened into what reminded her of his usual Chibi expressions. He seemed to silently ask her, "What'd I do?" She merely smiled at him and kept on walking.  
  
At least, she did until Sano stopped, making her bump into him.  
  
"OW!"  
  
"Itai! What'd you do that for, Missie?"  
  
"Why'd you stop?"  
  
He turned around and crossed his arms. "Do you have ANY clue where we are?"  
  
Anya thought about that for a moment. "Hmm..." Then she ^_^ed. "Nope, not a clue!"  
  
All of her Bishonen face-faulted.  
  
"Then why have we been going on for so long?" Sano asked.  
  
"Because when one gets lost, one picks a single direction and keeps going straight on," Anya said. "I've found it the best way to get un-lost." Then she assumed a thoughtful expression. "Or the best way to find someone to help you get un-lost."  
  
The Bishonen sweat-dropped.  
  
"Right. Sure."  
  
Then Anya lit up. "Hey, that's the Professor guy from earlier!" she pointed down the hallway. "See, I told you we wouldn't get lost! Let's ask him where we are!" With that, she hurried down the hall.  
  
Said Professor was in a deep discussion with his Washu about something.  
  
"...Data is quite correct. Since when has my data collector gone wrong?" the Washu was asking.  
  
"Well, actually, there WAS-"  
  
"That was a special case," Washu interrupted. "Honestly, that other Washu was just being a pain and sabotaged my data. My point is that my data is never incorrect. There WAS a Megumi here. We WILL find one soon!"  
  
Sanosuke snorted.  
  
This caused trainer and Bishoujo to turn around.  
  
"Oh sure, you must think it's funny for us to be looking for a Megumi," the trainer said, looking at Sanosuke. "Just laugh it up, will you? Smug Bishonen..." Then he noticed Anya. "Ah, a fellow trainer! Tell me, have you ever seen a Megumi around here?"  
  
Anya blinked. "Um, no?"  
  
"Didn't expect you to." He turned away. "But we are so close! Washu, as soon as you're done analyzing the last bit of data you've collected we'll take a quick break with the others so we'll be fresh for our discovery!"  
  
"Of course! Now let the greatest genius in the universe do her thing, Steve!" Washu said with a ^_^.  
  
Anya sweat-dropped. /Right. / "Why are you so intent on finding a Megumi?"  
  
"Because you never see them. You know they're there, but you never see one!" the professor- Steve- explained. "It's like trying to find an oak tree in the rainforest."  
  
Kenshin blinked. "There are oak trees in rainforests, that there are?" he questioned, looking mildly confused. "I thought they were for cooler temperatures."  
  
Anya sweat-dropped, and the other trainer looked like he'd heard something remarkably- well, stupid. "They AREN'T in rainforests, is my point," the professor explained.  
  
"I see..."  
  
"So you are in the tournament, I presume?" Steve asked.  
  
"Yup. Three of my Bishies are participating. You?"  
  
"Yes. That way I have access to everywhere a Megumi could possibly sneak through around here. Well, excepting LSS-sama's temporary quarters of course. I have yet to gain permission to go there... Yet..."  
  
"Ano, could you tell us which way we should go to get to the battle field, no da?" Chichiri requested.  
  
"We're lost," Anya admitted.  
  
"Oh, not particularly so. You're on the right track, you see. Just keep going until you find a corridor heading to your left. Follow that, and then go left again. Then you should be able to follow the sounds of the crowd and the music they've begun to play."  
  
"Thanks," Anya said.  
  
"Not a problem. If you should find ANY hint of a Megumi, please come and let me know," he said.  
  
"Um... okay."  
  
"Thanks to you as well. Come, Washu."  
  
Washu hit him on the head. "You don't order me around, buster!" Then she smiled. "So let's go already!"  
  
Anya sweat-dropped again, then turned to her Bishonen. "Shall we?" she asked.  
  
"Yes," came four replies.  
  
The group followed the directions as told, and eventually began to hear music and the crowd cheering up above as Steve had mentioned. Anya listened curiously to the music- she hadn't heard that song anywhere before.  
  
"Can't get you outta my head,  
  
Can't get you outta my mind!  
  
Dunno what to say,  
  
Dunno what to do,  
  
Can't you see, Bishie?  
  
I just can't stay away from you...  
  
I just can't pull myself away  
  
When I see you on the screen,  
  
I get just kinda hypnotized  
  
It's actually kinda creepy!  
  
And now I'm here and now you're here  
  
No longer on the screen,  
  
I can now be with you!  
  
Ain't ya glad?  
  
..."  
  
"What is that music?" Anya asked as they followed its sounds.  
  
Sanosuke snorted. "The fangirl theme to the Bishie world. What, you never heard it before?"  
  
"No, it's the first time."  
  
"Huh. Well, whatever. Let's head out and see what's going on in that first battle."  
  
"Sure thing!"  
  
~*~  
  
"You feeling better now, Hiei?"  
  
"Yeah." Hiei flexed his muscles. "That Chibi transforming caught me off guard. Once again, I apologize."  
  
"You can't help it sometimes, Hiei-kun. Don't worry about the past- think about the future! Let's aim for another of her Bishies. Sanosuke will be on his guard, and so will that newly transformed Kenshin of hers. How about her Chichiri, or her Heero? Or..." She smiled.  
  
"Ah. I get it." Hiei smiled back. "Then we'll have all of them at once. Leave that to me. Her friend's got a Hiei, after all."  
  
"You read my thoughts so well these days, Hiei-kun. Make sure she's relatively alone, if you can, and definitely out of view of... who was it? Kimiko and her Bishonen."  
  
"Got it." Hiei nodded. "We'll get more people this way. Oh, how's the contract with Eclipse going?"  
  
"Master Eclipse? We've got an agreement now. He's holding meetings with all Bishonen who have so much as a hint of magic in them. They're going to seal off their cities so humans can't touch them or stumble across them accidentally anymore. All free Bishies will retreat to these sealed-off areas. Then we, Hiei-kun, will be the only source of anything near Bishies. Humans will become hooked on halflings soon, I assure you. Even the insane ones. We just need one more, hem, pair to work with."  
  
"I'll start looking for an opportunity," Hiei promised. With that, he was gone.  
  
Kara looked up. "Ah, Anya, what are friends for anyway?" she asked the ceiling.  
  
The ceiling, inanimate as it was, didn't respond.  
  
~*~  
  
Notes- I have currently run out of chapter title ideas, so live with it. Just in case you all wanted a list, the trainers (in Anya's group) that signed up for the tournament are... Anya, Abby, Jacky, Kimiko... well, everyone but Paul because Paul hasn't won enough battles in gyms yet. Poor Paul! (Hugs)  
  
A special note to everyone who wants to be in- Like I said in chapter, oh, twenty-seven, I'm not adding anyone else to my extensive list of people to put in until I get them all in here first! And even then I don't know if I will be able to or not. The story doesn't last forever, you know!   
  
(Knows she is MAJORLY cheating by doing a tournament and doesn't particularly give a rat's butt about it) Hope you enjoyed this!  
  
(Also realizes she has added yet another short chapter) Yeah, sorry about that. ^^;  
  
OH! One more note! That song I added in is MINE! I don't think it's so great anyone would WANT to use it, but it's MINE all the same! 


	33. Chapter Thirtythree! More trainers show ...

Chapter Thirty-three- Troubles  
  
~*~  
  
Rhia and Pixie were almost done with their match.  
  
It had been a fairly long one, considering that the matches were only one on one. Pixie's Milliardo was winning at this point, using his sword as both an effective weapon and shield from the Quatre's attempts to attack. At first, both had been about to summon their Gundams, but had decided that it may be too dangerous for the other Bishies and trainers watching (not to mention their own trainers). Thus, the battle dragged on, man to man.  
  
Quatre was out of breath, with a few new bruises. He had a knife to fight with, but since they weren't really fighting to the death or to protect something, he couldn't do much with it. Thus, he had almost always been on the defensive.  
  
Milliardo blew some of his hair out of his face, readied his sword, and raced at him.  
  
The other Bishonen realized this, and also noticed that this could be the last blow he could take before he collapsed. Glancing around, he finally decided to take a risk. Quatre fell on the ground and rolled at Milliardo's legs, causing the older Bishie to fall on top of him.  
  
The crowd (and Rhia) cheered at this. Quatre managed to roll out, due to his momentum, from under Milliardo. Then he jumped on top and proceeded to punch the other Bishie.  
  
After a few punches, however, he stopped. "Okay. I don't want to hurt you much more unless I have to. Do you surrender?" he asked sweetly.  
  
Milliardo snorted and hit him on the head with the hilt of his sword. "Please."  
  
That, indeed, was the last blow Quatre could take. He @_@ed and promptly fell to the ground, this time unconscious.  
  
LSS raced up. "One, two, three... and the winner is Milliardo! Great job, you two! Pixie, you rest up your Bishonen and get ready, your next match will be tomorrow afternoon. Rhia, great job as well; rest up your Bishonen too, and please hang around. We give out participation prizes as well as top three prizes!"  
  
Both trainers nodded, and hurried over to their Bishonen. Then, after eyeing each other, they shook hands quickly before hurrying off the field with their respective Bishies.  
  
"All rightie! Who's up next... let's see... ah!" LSS held up a paper. "The next two trainers to battle are... MorTae and Megan! Come on out, you two!"  
  
Kimiko jumped up as the crowd cheered and the two trainers appeared on the field. "MorTae! Thank God, she's okay! MORTAE! UP HERE!" She waved frantically.  
  
The trainer somehow managed to hear Kimiko, and looked up. Her eyes searched the crowd for a moment, then her eyes widened when she spotted Kimiko. She waved back, mouthed, "Talk later" and then walked over to LSS.  
  
LSS turned to her. "Well, MorTae, I hear you're a Yu-Gi-Oh fan."  
  
"Yup. I got three Bakuras that do the job for me." MorTae ^_^ed.   
  
"Three Bakuras? Which kind?"  
  
"Well, I have a Ryou Bakura, a Yami Bakura, and Thief Bakura. The thief one is a previous version of Yami, though, so it's only technically two kinds of them."  
  
"Cool!" LSS grinned. "Got anything to say before your match?"  
  
MorTae thought about that for a moment. "Um... Bakura's awesome?"  
  
"That works. At least it's sane... ahem, anyway... now, let's talk to Megan! Megan, what's up?"  
  
"I got a Ryou Bakura, too, as well as a Gohan and a Yahiko. I also had an Ascot at one point."  
  
"And have you got anything to say to the crowd, or a friend or something?"  
  
"Actually... Yeah. I'd like to shout out to my friend Reyana Draconis, who's out in that crowd somewhere. Good luck to ya, and wish me luck too!" She gave a thumbs up and smiled.  
  
Far up in the crowd, said trainer waved back frantically.  
  
"All right. Good luck to both of you. Now, let's get the match started!"  
  
A cheer rose up from the crowds as both trainers grabbed their Bish-balls and threw them.  
  
An instant later, a Ryou Bakura and a Yahiko were circling each other warily. Ryou was weaponless (not including the Sennen Ring, of course), though Yahiko carried his usual wooden sword around.  
  
Anya made her way up to a seat with her Bishonen as the match began. She winced as Yahiko almost immediately landed a hit on Ryou's side. "That's gotta hurt."  
  
"It's only starting. I love it when weak pacifists fight!" Sanosuke announced eagerly.  
  
"Yahiko," Kenshin murmured.   
  
"Yup. He looks about the same age as in the show, so I'm guessing he's only San?" Anya asked.  
  
"Yes," Heero nodded at that.  
  
"You're going DOWN!"  
  
"Da?" Chichiri asked. A question mark appeared above his head.  
  
"Oh no, YOU are the one who's going down!"  
  
"How dare you, you, you Bishie-stealer!"  
  
"Whaaat? I didn't steal your Bishonen! I saw him first!"  
  
"Did not!"  
  
"Did too!"  
  
Anya and her Bishonen turned to see two female trainers sitting next to each other, squabbling. Next to one of the trainers sat a very embarrassed looking Yuki. He was sweat-dropping and trying to edge to the opposite side of his seat, away from the two trainers, but the one sitting next to him had a rather firm grip on his arm.  
  
"Did NOT!"  
  
"DID TOO YOU BISHONEN STEALER!"  
  
"Why, I never! I will defeat you in... Time!" Both trainers whipped out their watches. "In twenty minutes, or whenever this battle ends! Or my name isn't Hildi-chan!"  
  
"Hah! No, you're mistaken girly! For I, the great RONI, shall defeat you!" Said trainer stuck out her tongue.  
  
Thus began a rather long and odd-looking contest to see who could stick their tongue out the longest. At the end, however, both trainers seemed to get bored with that. Thus, they proceeded to resort to making funny faces until they were both laughing like their argument had never happened. Hildi-chan, the one holding Yuki, absently hugged him.  
  
"Aah!" With that, he promptly turned into his rat form.  
  
"Kawaii," Anya breathed.   
  
"What, the rat? I thought girls didn't like rats... Kaoru always hates 'em..." Sano muttered.  
  
Anya hit him on the head. "You're being stereotypical again, Sanosuke. Stop it."  
  
He grumbled and nudged her.  
  
Thus started an ELBOW war.  
  
Chichiri turned SD and sweat-dropped. "Guys! Can't we calm down and watch the tournament like we're supposed to na no da?!"  
  
Anya and Sanosuke blinked, then slowly nodded and stopped their war. Apparently, the trainers Hildi-chan and Roni had heard him too, for they stopped laughing and began to make small bets on who would win said current fight.  
  
As for the fighters themselves...  
  
Ryou had suddenly become very violent after Yahiko managed to bruise his face. Anya hadn't expected him to get angry over a bruise, but now he had his Sennen Ring in one hand, swinging said ring as though he knew how to use it like an actual weapon. Yahiko himself seemed surprised, and due to this let down his guard momentarily.  
  
In a very short time, Yahiko was bloodied and bruised into unconsciousness, lying with a @_@ expression on his face. "Wah, wah, wah, wah..."  
  
Ryou calmly pulled out a rag, wiped off the Sennen Ring, ^_^ed, and walked back to his trainer.  
  
LSS picked up her microphone and ran into the battle scene. "It seems we have a winner! Congratulations, MorTae! And great job to you too, Megan. Better luck next time!"  
  
Suddenly, Hildi-chan and Roni were racing down towards the battlefield, arguing at the top of their lungs about who won the bet and who would win the upcoming battle. Hildi-chan was yanking along Yuki, who had transformed back into his human form during the battle and once more looked more than a little nervous about what was to happen soon.  
  
~*~  
  
MorTae hugged her Ryou Bakura and offered him a potion. Once he'd obediently swallowed it, she sent him back into her Bish-ball. Her eyes searched the crowd, and she found Kimiko once again. She smiled, and made her way up to her friend.  
  
Kimiko grinned. "MorTae, she's okay! Thank God!"  
  
Tasuki suddenly turned to Hiei. "Pay up."  
  
Kurama and Kimiko face-faulted. "Nani?!" both wondered.  
  
Hiei sighed and pulled out some coins. After counting them, he handed them all to Tasuki. "Fair's fair," he sighed.  
  
"What? What?" Kimiko asked.  
  
"We had a bet goin' on 'bout whether she was really kidnapped or if she jus' left cause she was bored travelin' with us," Tasuki explained. "I won!"  
  
Kimiko sighed. "What am I going to do with the lot of you?"  
  
"Love us like you always do?" Tasuki suggested, picking up one of her arms and slinging it around his shoulders.  
  
"Now, Tasuki, perhaps love is too strong a term for our dear trainer," Kurama said smoothly, doing the same to Kimiko's other arm. "Maybe... admire us? After all, you'll only serve to make her blush, and it doesn't befit her color with that outfit."  
  
Kimiko -_-ed. "Why me?"  
  
"Why you what?"  
  
Kimiko looked up, and immediately her expression became delighted. "MorTae, you're okay!"  
  
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Why? Did I worry you by leaving?" she asked.  
  
The other trainer nodded.   
  
"Sorry. After I found Bakura, I checked into a nearby Center since it was so late. By then, I thought you'd have moved on. I didn't even think to call you. Sorry again..." MorTae bowed her head and clasped her hands together above said head.  
  
Kimiko blushed and waved her arms. "It's okay, really! Just sit down and tell me what you've been up to!"  
  
"Sure thing!"  
  
The friends sat together and proceeded to catch up, as a new battle proceeded below.  
  
~*~  
  
Logan paced through the hallways of the laboratory, chewing on his lower lip.  
  
"I don't like this. I don't like this at all. She won't talk to anyone, not even me, and Hiei's gone off somewhere... No, I certainly can't say I like this new development."  
  
He stopped to peer at the door down the hall, where Kara was 'busy' with something. Another conference with the Bishies? A call with someone? Dare he think she was experimenting already?   
  
Logan shuddered at that. "I just wish I could go in there and know what she was doing," he murmured.  
  
~*~  
  
Kara took a look at the trainer profiles at the tournament, smiling. "Now, let's see... Anya's are a must, simply because now I know her Sanosuke's strength and the other's loyalty. I need more trainers and Bishies like that. Hmm... how about..." She sweat-dropped. "No, that professor Steve is a little beyond me. How about... Yes, she'll come, and maybe him too... After I talk to Anya, of course..."  
  
~*~  
  
Kara's Hiei made it through the crowds, glancing this way and that. So far he hadn't any clue as to where Anya or her friends were- he hadn't spotted them. After all, so many trainers with many of the same Bishies she had were milling around the place, so it was hard to find any one person here.  
  
He yawned and looked up at the sky. It was starting to get late, anyhow. He should probably check into a Center and pretend he was lost or-  
  
/Home. Kara./  
  
The sudden need came upon him out of nowhere. Without thinking about it, he had stopped in his tracks, turned around, and was now heading in the direction of-  
  
/The mountains. Home. To Kara. Trainer. Must go home soon./  
  
Then he forced himself to stop, shaking his head. "This is stupid. I've only been away for a few hours. I shouldn't need to go back so soon."  
  
/But the farther you stray and the longer there you stay, the quicker the time your brain runs away,/ an old rhyme warned him.  
  
"I should still..."  
  
"Go back to your master."  
  
Hiei looked up, and his eyes widened. "Eclipse...?"  
  
The other demon shrugged. He was leaning against a nearby chair casually, as though he'd every right to be there amongst trainers and their captured Bishies. "You're captured. You can't fight that."  
  
"I shouldn't have to fight this need to go back. I shouldn't have to go back so soon..."  
  
"Look, kid, as much as I appreciate you acting like you're stronger than other Bishonen and giving us demons a good name. But what good are you to your master- oh, sorry, trainer-" he smirked "-if you're not there to help us? Go back. You can look for our victims- er, AIDES- tomorrow."  
  
Hiei sighed. "Fine. And for your information, I am not a kid."  
  
"Sure you aren't." With that, Eclipse disappeared into the crowd surrounding them.  
  
The demon Bishonen blinked at the sudden disappearance, then shrugged. The movement only caused him to realize that he was once again moving in the general direction towards Kara's mountain range.  
  
/All right, fine, you win,/ he thought irritably. /Stupid madness... Kara should look into that, too.../  
  
Keeping that suggestion in mind, he made his way to the nearest alley, then he too disappeared.  
  
~*~  
  
"Wow, so many matches today!" Anya said, stretching. "There were what, four or five?"  
  
"Four, actually. We're the first tomorrow," Sanosuke said. He clenched one fist. "Ya better be prayin' for any trainers we're up against tomorrow!"  
  
Anya chuckled and went over to Kenshin, who was holding the remote in his hands, turning it over and over as though he'd never seen one before. She took it for a moment, causing the now San-staged Bishonen to look up in question. She turned on the TV. Then she handed it back to him. He blinked, then smiled at her. She smiled back.  
  
"So we're fighting tomorrow, Annie-dono?" Kenshin asked quietly.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"And I'm gonna be the one to fight in the first match," Sanosuke announced.  
  
"Doesn't that depend on our trainer?" Heero asked, glancing up.  
  
"Quiet, spandex boy. You're not even in the tournament!"  
  
Anya blinked, then laughed. "Spandex boy? Where did you think that one up, Sano?" She flopped on the bed next to Kenshin, watching as he absently flipped through a few channels. "Anyway, I'm sure whoever fights tomorrow will do awesome."  
  
"And actually, I think it was wise you chose to have one of us not battling, no da," Chichiri said.   
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Well, if the battles do move up to multiple Bishonen, and we get beaten up for whatever reason, you'd still have someone around while the rest of us were in the hospital."  
  
Anya smiled at him. "Chichiri, since when would I leave you all alone in the hospital anyway?"  
  
He promptly turned SD and poked his index fingers together. "Well it's just that we're all still worried after what happened a few days ago an' it was just a thought no daaaa..."  
  
Kimiko poked her head in then. "Can we come in?" she asked.  
  
"Yup, come on in. It's your room too," Anya said, waving at the other bed.  
  
Kimiko smiled and came in. Soon after came Kurama, Hiei and Tasuki.   
  
Anya then blanched. "Kimiko, you know I love you and your Bishies but WHY did you let Tasuki in here with sake? I don't want him getting my Bishonen drunk, and aren't you battling sometime tomorrow anyway?"  
  
"Probably," Kimiko admitted. "But he insisted."  
  
Said drunk Bishonen fell onto the bed where Kenshin and Anya were and slung his arms around both sets of shoulders. "Naaa, let'sh get drunk ash hell an' have shome fuuuun," he drawled.  
  
Kenshin's eyes narrowed and flashed gold, while Anya merely -_-ed and shoved Tasuki off of her. "Tasuki, I think you've already had enough."  
  
"Naa, you're no fun," He complained. He then wandered over to the table, where he picked up a couple bowls.  
  
"Oh, God," Kimiko, Chichiri, and Anya all said at once. Chichiri looked away in embarrassment of his fellow Seishi, while the trainers watched in mild amusement.  
  
"Look, I'm Miaka!" he said, putting the bowls to his head. "Whee!" Then he stuck them on his face. "An' now I'm Nuriko wit' them big-ass eyes!"   
  
Sanosuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, he's lost it. Sad. I'll bet he only had one bottle, too."  
  
Kenshin continued to watch. However, now that Tasuki was nowhere near his trainer with that odd behavior, he was fascinated with the other redhead.  
  
"Daaa, I don't know him no da," Chichiri mumbled, disappearing into his hat.  
  
Anya shook his head. "You all are too much sometimes."  
  
Heero glanced up at her and lifted an eyebrow at her.  
  
She grinned. "Yes, you too Mister Computer Guy."  
  
"Mister Computer Guy? There goes what's left of HER IQ," Sanosuke joked. He grabbed Tasuki's bottle of sake and took a swig of it. "Aah."  
  
"Hey, no drinking!" Anya reached over to grab it away.  
  
He held it up in the air above her. "Try it, Missie!"  
  
"Kenshin, help me here!"  
  
The redhead blinked at her, then looked at Sanosuke. Then he tilted his head to one side like he had when he was a Chibi. "Oro?"  
  
"You're no help." She attempted to jump up, but failed. Sano took another swig, and she shoved him onto the bed. Sano yelped in surprise, and the bottle went flying.  
  
Tasuki, however, caught it and continued his impressions of people with the bowls without missing a beat.  
  
"Are we going to get any sleep?" Kimiko asked, sitting next to Anya on the bed. "Our Bishies are turning more and more into Abby and Paul here!"  
  
"Ooh, don't give them any ideas, Kimi-"  
  
Tasuki had already overheard them. He ^_^ed and promptly tossed the bowls into the air. He started waving one arm frantically. "I can do 'em, I can do 'em! Pick me, pick me!"  
  
Both trainers sweat-dropped. "Ano..."  
  
"Ah, forget you." Tasuki then clasped his hands together and widened his eyes until they sparkled. "Whee, where is my darling Vallie-poo? Come to me my love! Wai, let's meet Illpallazo-sama Excel-Excel! I WANT CARAMON! No, he's MINE!" Tasuki proceeded to do a whole conversation between the two trainers.  
  
Chichiri sighed from inside his hat. "Nope, don't know any of them no da..."  
  
Kimiko laughed. "Oh, you guys. Let's try to get some sleep, shall we?"  
  
"Yeah, anyone who's planning on getting drunk can go outside." Anya picked up a pillow and threw it at Sanosuke. "That means you, buddy."  
  
"I ain't drunk," he retorted, but he made his way to the door anyway.   
  
Tasuki soon followed after him, though he wanted to know if one could stay if they were already drunk before he left.  
  
Anya slipped into one bed, Kimiko the other. Kenshin started to join Anya, then recalled he was no longer a Chibi and turned crimson. Muttering apologies, he went to the couch. Chichiri wordlessly set himself up on the floor, while Heero disappeared into his Bish-ball. Kurama and Hiei did the same as Heero.  
  
The trainers both said their goodnights, then turned off the lights. Anya stretched out on her bed, grinning at the ceiling.  
  
/Tomorrow we'll have a big battle going on. I can't wait. I'll just have to pick which one of my guys... I'll let the other trainer pick who to fight with first, then I'll choose. I guess since I haven't used Sanosuke.../  
  
With that, she trailed off...  
  
~*~  
  
And chapter thirty-three is done! Okay, I made (at the least) four cameos, and one mention! That's five trainers! Whee, I'm good...   
  
One thing to clear up just in case people are confused and/or suspicious. Yes, Sanosuke has a thing for Anya. No, Kenshin does not. He's just very protective because he's known her since he was a Chibi, and she always took good care of him.  
  
Er... I know I added new Bishies, but I really don't feel like writing up about them. You'll live, right?   
  
Well, hope you enjoyed, and until next time... 


	34. Chapter Thirty Four!

Chapter Thirty-four- Anya's Round  
  
Notes- Sorry, it took a bit longer than usual, didn't it folks? Hope this chapter makes up for it... anyway, things are winding up more tightly than ever as Anya goes into her first match. Who will be her opponent? When will the others get to battle? Who else will be added in?! That, my friends, is why we are here today-  
  
Muses- (pop up and smack her upside the head) They get the idea. -_- Shut up and write!  
  
Right. Sorry... Anyway, hope you enjoy!  
  
~*~  
  
"Anya?"  
  
"Annie-dono?"  
  
Poke, poke.  
  
"Mmph..." Anya swatted the offending finger away. "No poke. No touchie... mrph."  
  
Her Bishonen collectively sweat-dropped at that. "Anya, get up or you'll miss your round no da!" Chichiri said, poking her again.   
  
"Yeah, Missie, get up!"  
  
"Five more minutes, mommy."  
  
Chichiri promptly face-faulted. Kenshin watched from the door, while Heero raised an eyebrow.  
  
Sano then rolled up his sleeves, assuming a serious expression. "You don't want to do this the easy way, Missie? That's fine. Heero?"  
  
Heero blinked when Sano turned to him, then nodded when Sano gestured towards the bathroom. After a moment, the Bishies could hear the shower running.  
  
Sanosuke took in a breath, then picked up his trainer.  
  
"Meeeh? ...Sano, what're you doing? I'm sleepin'..."  
  
"I got a hangover an' you don't see ME complaining, do you?"  
  
"Sano? Where ya taking... EEEEEEEEEEK!"  
  
Chichiri and Kenshin jumped at the shriek. Anya soon left the bathroom and came stumbling out, shivering and glaring at the lot of them.  
  
"Cold...will KILL you all..."  
  
Chichiri pointed at Sano as the fighting Bishonen walked out, drying his wet hands and arms with a towel. "It was all him no da!" he declared. "Don't blame me!"  
  
"Don't care... you let him..." Then she yawned and fell back on the bed, wet clothes and all.  
  
"Oh, no you don't. Come on, Anya!" Chichiri sat on the bed, frowning. "Remember? You got a match today no da."  
  
"Meh," was her reply.   
  
Then,  
  
"MATCH?! Oh my God, I'm late!" Anya was instantly awake, washed, dressed, dried, and standing at the door before anyone could react to her statement. "Let's get moving, people, we got a match to go to!"  
  
"Daaaa..."  
  
"Uh, sure," Sanosuke said, blinking. Even he hadn't been expecting that reaction.  
  
"Where's Kimiko? She already left didn't she?! Oh my God, what if they moved on already?"  
  
"Anya, the match isn't- Anya?" Sano grabbed her by the shoulders before she could dart out the door. "MISSIE, WILL YA SHUT UP AN' CALM DOWN FER A SECOND HERE?"  
  
"But I'm late-"  
  
"Yer not late, we got a half hour."  
  
"But... I set the alarm clock.."  
  
"It's broken, didn't you know? Tasuki broke it last night on his way in no da," Chichiri said, sweat-dropping. "He's out with Kimiko apologizing to the hotel folk and Kimiko's gonna have to pay for it. That's why they're up and you're not."  
  
"Well actually, Kimiko's apologizing while Tasuki's arguing about why he shouldn't have to be blamed for it's destruction," Sanosuke pointed out.  
  
"Same thing, no da!"  
  
"...Oh. Well don't scare me like that, okay? I got enough on my mind right now!" Anya said. She stretched, feeling a sense of laziness return to her. "Okay, are you guys ready to go already?"  
  
"Yes," came the reply.  
  
"Then let's grab a donut or something on the way out. Then we'll be able to fight without empty stomachs..."  
  
~*~  
  
"Look, the alarm was annoying anyway, it was bound to get broken!" came a familiar bandit's voice.  
  
Anya paused on the stairs, blinking. "Oh dear..."  
  
"It's annoying so you can get up! What'd you expect?"  
  
"Actually, I expect t' sleep in when I get drunk as hell!"  
  
"You are SO not fighting today. Kurama or Hiei will."  
  
"What? That SUCKS! Yer no fair at all, Kimiko!"  
  
"Ha."  
  
Anya peeked around the corner to see that both trainer and Bishonen were busy sticking their tongues out at each other. She sweat-dropped. "And I thought I was bad with Sano..." She rounded the corner and ^_^ed. "Hi, guys."  
  
Kurama and Hiei, who were drinking coffee and eating, glanced up from their table to nod at Anya and her Bishies.  
  
Kimiko turned and smiled back at Anya. "Hey, glad you made it."  
  
"Yeah. Are you guys ready to get going?"  
  
"Uh-huh. Have you seen Abby or Jacky or anyone else this morning?"  
  
"No, why?"  
  
"Guess they're sleeping in..." Kimiko shrugged. "I hope they have afternoon battles."  
  
"Yeah, today they're supposed to have more battles than before, right?"  
  
Kimiko nodded. "Yup. At least ten... I don't remember how many matches exactly, but I think it's around ten today."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"No, wait... yeah, ten or twelve. I heard a few people were dropping out because they were complaining the tournament took like a week or something, and they had better things to do. So the first rounds are cut short."  
  
"Works for me, more battles more often. And more battles..."  
  
"Means more sake!" Tasuki declared happily.  
  
Kimiko sighed and hit him. "Actually, I think she was going to say 'more money, not to mention more experience for you guys.'"  
  
Anya nodded.  
  
"But ya can get SAKE from money! O-KA-NE!" Tasuki sang. "Heh, listen t' me! I can talk like obake-chan!"  
  
"You're STILL drunk, aren't you?" Anya asked.  
  
Tasuki ^-v^ed* and held up a bottle of sake out of nowhere. "Yup! Best way t' cure a hangover's t' get drunk again!"   
  
((* That was an attempt to imitate Tasuki's fanged ^_^.))  
  
Sanosuke crossed his arms and nodded seriously with that statement.  
  
Anya hit her Bishonen on the shoulder.  
  
"Itai, woman! What was that for? I didn't say anything!"  
  
"You don't have to, my dear Sanosuke."  
  
He humphed. "Whatever."  
  
She hit him again and turned to Kimiko. "Well, shall we get going?"  
  
"Yeah, we'd better. We've now got..." She glanced at the clock. "We got ten minutes before the matches begin!"  
  
"Crap! I'm first!" Anya raced over to the breakfast stand, grabbed two donuts and a glass of orange juice, and raced out the door.  
  
"Ano... Anya?" Chichiri sweat-dropped. "You're kinda forgetting US, no da..."  
  
"Missie, WAIT UP!"  
  
With that, the rest of them hurried after her.  
  
~*~  
  
"Whew! Made it!" Anya gasped, touching the door as they reached the lobby. "Safe! Now where'm I supposed to go again...? Oh yeah, I gotta get to a stadium door entrance! C'mon guys!"  
  
Chichiri hung his head. "Anya-dono no daaaa, wait for us!"  
  
"Ever heard of 'fashionably late', Missie?" Sano yelled after her.  
  
Heero gave a "Hn" and merely followed his trainer.  
  
"Talk about a warm up," Kenshin remarked.   
  
~*~  
  
"Weeelcoomee to the SECOND DAY OF THE TOURNAMENT!"  
  
The crowd of trainers in the stadium seats cheered at this.  
  
"We got a great lineup of trainers today! Twelve non-stop matches for the spectator's delight! Watch your favorite characters battle against each other!"  
  
"Kinda like that show where two popular celebs duke it out and end up killing each other in brutal ways, right?" someone called from the watching trainers.  
  
LSS sweat-dropped. "Ah, it's a little toned down compared to that..."  
  
The same trainer who'd been with LSS the other day took the mike again. "Hi! Demoonica here! We're busy as ever working to make you, our customers happy with the Bishie T-shirt stands here! Come by during the day! We'll polish your Bish-balls, sell you T-shirts, and offer you fast food!"   
  
A Bishonen that no one recognized came out and hurried over to her. Sweat dropping, he grabbed her and murmured something to her, glancing nervously at the crowd.  
  
"What? But Zander-! Ooh, fine." She hung her head. "Back to you, LSS-sama!" With a ^_^, the trainer handed the mic back to LSS.  
  
"Uh, arigatou! So shall we start?"   
  
The crowd cheered their approval of this suggestion. Meanwhile, the trainer, Demoonica, was being dragged away by the Bishonen called 'Zander'.  
  
"First off, let's welcome ANYA to the tournament!"  
  
Anya blinked, and turned back to her Bishies for a second of reassurance. Chichiri grinned, went SD, and seated himself on her shoulder. Heero "hnned" again and disappeared into his Ball. Sano cracked his knuckles, and Kenshin touched the hilt of his sword.  
  
"Okay, here we go," she said, and walked out with her Bishies into the battlefield.  
  
Inspiration suddenly struck her when she spotted LSS. "Darn, why didn't I think of it before?" she asked, looking up at the crowd somewhat nervously.  
  
"What?" Sano shouted over the cheers.  
  
Anya tried a smile and waved at the stands, making the cheering continue. "TALKING TO LSS! ABOUT THE BISHIE THING!" she shouted at him.  
  
"OH!"  
  
"WHAT NO DA?!"  
  
"TALK LATER!"  
  
"OKAY!"  
  
By that time, Anya had reached LSS and the cheering had died down.  
  
LSS smiled at Anya and then turned her attention to the crowd. "So tell us, Anya, who are these lovely Bishies with you?"  
  
Chichiri popped back into his full form and waved at the crowd, some of which squealed and cheered again. Sano raised a fist at the watchers, grinning. Kenshin merely looked around himself.  
  
"I got Chichiri, Sanosuke, and Kenshin to help me out," Anya said.  
  
"Very cool, very cool indeed. Got anything to say on the mic?"  
  
"Uh..." Anya blinked. /Should have expected THAT.../ "Not right on the bat, no."  
  
"That's cool. Why don't you take your place?"  
  
"Sure." Then Anya suddenly grabbed the mic and covered it so her voice wasn't magnified.  
  
"What the-?" LSS blinked at her. "What're you doing?"  
  
"I need to talk to you after the match," Anya said.  
  
"Look, I don't mind talking to people, but I'm gonna be kinda busy..."  
  
"Please. It's not fangirly chitchat. It's serious."  
  
LSS regarded her for a moment, eyes narrowed. "That's what they always say."  
  
"It's about the trainers getting kidnapped and halflings. I know who's behind it, and I've had friends kidnapped by her."  
  
That froze up the other trainer for a moment. "If you are lying to me, I swear I'll have you kicked out of this world without question," LSS whispered fiercely.  
  
"I know."  
  
"...Okay, I can talk to you around noon, I get a quick break then. Meet me at that girl- Demoonica's- T-shirt stand. Oh, and buy me a hot dog, will you?" LSS ^_^ed and took back the mic before Anya could respond. "All right, let's introduce the next trainer!"  
  
Anya nodded gratefully at her before heading over to her place on the field with her Bishies in tow.  
  
"Okay, noon at the T-shirt stand. Now I just have to figure out where that IS," Anya mumbled.  
  
"Let's all say hello to Nilladriel! Come on out!"  
  
The crowd cheered again as said trainer made her way out.  
  
Anya blinked. "Wow, that's gotta be uncomfortable out here!"  
  
Nilladriel was clothed in all black, from head to toe. Her skin by comparison looked almost as white as a sheet, though if one looked closer they could see it was actually a bit darker. Instead of the usual Bish-belt around her waist, she had a chain. Anya couldn't help but wonder where her Bish-balls were; there were none in sight.  
  
"So who do you have, Nilladriel?" LSS asked, all cheerful.  
  
"I got a Rune, a Wufei, a Pan, and a Duo."  
  
"Sounds good. Got anything to say to the crowd?"  
  
Nilladriel shrugged, and raised up one hand to give the crowds a peace/victory sign. The spectators roared in return.  
  
"Okay... let the battle begin!"  
  
~*~  
  
Hiei watched from the very first row in the stadium as Nilladriel and then Anya chose their Bishonen for the battle. Nilladriel chose first; she pulled a Bish-ball out of an until-recently-unnoticed pocket and a Wufei appeared. Said Bishonen immediately turned his nose up at the crowd and Anya.  
  
"Hmph. Baka onna."  
  
Anya rolled her eyes and glanced at Kenshin, who nodded. His eyes flashed a bright gold as he unsheathed his sword and stepped in front of his trainer.  
  
Wufei looked over this Bishonen with interest as he too unsheathed his sword. He seemed to note the gold in Kenshin's eyes then. Hiei watched as the Wufei seemed to decide to attack with caution and not headfirst, as he would usually do.  
  
"Smart move," he murmured as both Bishonen walked up to each other. They touched swords, then went into fighting stance.  
  
For a moment, there was no movement between the two. The crowd slowly quieted into hushed murmurs.   
  
"What're they doin...?"  
  
"Not moving..."  
  
"...So tense down there..."  
  
"...Sugoi!"  
  
Then Wufei twitched, and both immediately launched into their battle.  
  
Anya gave an "ooh" as Kenshin and Wufei temporarily went too fast for anyone to see their movements clearly, then came into view.   
  
Chichiri went SD again and waved a banner that had appeared out of nowhere. It said, both in Chinese and English, "Go Kenshin!"  
  
Anya sweat-dropped at him before turning back to the match.  
  
Sanosuke's eyes hadn't left the battle since they had touched swords. His arms were crossed as he surveyed his "nephew's" fighting skills appraisingly. "C'mon kid," he mumbled.  
  
~*~  
  
Paul sighed as he watched the two Bishonen battle. Then he stood and stretched. "I am SO bored," he complained. "I haven't even been mentioned for the past few chapters! That so pisses me off!"  
  
Then he blinked. "What'm I saying?" Then he blinked again, this time with realization. "It must be SUGAR WITHDRAWAL! I must go in search of sugar!" He struck a pose, making a few people nearby him sweat-drop. "To the T-shirt stand!"   
  
He made his way down the stairs to a doorway that led into the gym/stadium hallways. For a few minutes, if one had passed by they would see the young man marching purposefully through the corridors.  
  
Finally, he stopped and scratched his head.   
  
"So, uh, which way IS the T-shirt stand, anyway?"  
  
~*~  
  
Jacky yawned and stretched sleepily as she stirred into wakefulness. "Hmm," she mumbled. "What time's it...?"  
  
She opened her eyes to look around, then did a double take as she looked at the clock.  
  
"Holy #$^#! I'm late!" she cried, and leaped to her feet.  
  
Abby jumped at the shout and looked around. "What! Where's the fire? Save the penguins!" Then she spotted Jacky. "Oh, it's you. I thought the penguins were in danger. You scared me there!"  
  
Jacky sweat-dropped. "Uh, right. Sorry. We're late for the tournament! What if we're kicked out?!"  
  
"What?! And have my Vallie-poo kicked out too?" Abby asked indignantly. "NO WAY!"  
  
"Let's get ready to go NOW!"  
  
"Yes! My love Valgaav must be ready for his battle! And, heh, heh, Caramon too..." Abby ^_^ed.   
  
Within moments both trainers were dressed and ready for the day; Abby was even latched onto Valgaav and Caramon already as they made their way out the door.  
  
"Let us ride! TO THE TOURNAMENT!" Abby declared.  
  
Valgaav sweat-dropped. "Why me?"  
  
"Ugh... no... air...!" Caramon choked.  
  
"You get used to it," Valgaav told him.   
  
Caramon told him to shut up, though in a way that is far too inappropriate for one to repeat.  
  
Valgaav replied in the most dignified manner possible at the moment; he stuck his tongue out at him while pulling on his eyelid.  
  
Jacky sighed as she hurried down the hallways and out the door into the street. "Oh boy..."  
  
~*~  
  
Both Bishonen were breathing hard twenty minutes into the battle. Wufei had new bruises covering his left side and arm, while Kenshin bore one on his cheek and on one leg. Both were covered in light layers of sweat, though they each still held their swords with firm grips.  
  
"Not bad for someone who just evolved," Wufei mumbled at him.  
  
Kenshin gave a grim smile. "Not bad for an old Bishonen."  
  
"Care to repeat yourself?"  
  
"I said you were old, that you are."  
  
"I may be, but I have more skill than you!"  
  
"Let us have the battle determine that!" Kenshin drew back slightly.  
  
Wufei watched warily, back in the standard fighting position. He stayed where he was instead of following the other Bishonen, going on the defense for the moment.  
  
Kenshin lifted the sword. "Hiten Mitsurugi Style," he whispered.   
  
The other Bishonen tried to hear what sort of attack Kenshin was about to use; if he knew it, he could find a quick way to dodge it. However, that was his final mistake in this battle.  
  
Kenshin had spoken the attack quietly as he used it, bringing the sword out and knocking Wufei's hurried attempt to block him out of the way. Then he brought the sword's sheath into use, slamming the end into Wufei's temporarily unguarded middle.  
  
Wufei's eyes widened, then closed in pain. As Kenshin stepped away, he fell to his knees, trying to remember how to breathe.  
  
"One, two... three! Anya is the winner!" LSS gave a thumbs up to the crowd, who cheered.  
  
"Yatta no da!"  
  
"Yosh!" Sano announced, punching a hand into the sky.  
  
Kenshin gave Wufei and his trainer a polite nod before turning back to his own friends. "How did I do, Annie-dono?" he asked quietly.  
  
Anya grinned and gave him a hug. "Wonderful! You did awesome Kenshin! Great job!"  
  
The redhead smiled at her. "Arigatou!"  
  
"Let's get outta the way, the next battle should start up soon," Sano suggested. "We can celebrate somewhere else. Like, with some sake?"  
  
"Maybe later," Anya said with a -_-. "But you're right, let's go." She glanced up at LSS and mouthed, "Noon!"  
  
LSS nodded and turned back to the crowd. "Next up, let's give a warm welcome to KIMIKO!"  
  
"Kimiko's up?! Where is she? I wonder who she'll battle with..."  
  
Kimiko came out onto the field, blinking in the sunlight. Her Kurama and Tasuki were out, though her Hiei wasn't in sight. She spotted Anya and waved as they approached each other.  
  
"Great job!" Kimiko said quickly.   
  
"Thanks! Good luck, you can do it!" Anya answered. With that, she walked off of the field.  
  
"Kimiko, got anything to say...? No? Well, let's meet her opponent, Reyana Draconis!"  
  
~*~ Later ~*~  
  
"Almost noon..." Anya said, looking at the clock.  
  
"A perfect time for lunch!" one of the people behind the counter at the stand said. "Want a hot dog?"  
  
"Actually, make that..." Anya counted mentally. "Six."  
  
"Six hot dogs, coming right up!"  
  
"Make that seven!"   
  
Anya turned. "Paul?"  
  
"Hallo!" He ^_^ed. "Fancy meeting you here!"  
  
"What're you doing?"  
  
"Filling up on sugar. I'm low on fuel, you know. Needed a refill. I'm taking a quick break now with a hot dog."  
  
"Okay... How's it been?"  
  
"Boring. I'm thinking of forgetting about the tournament and going on ahead. Maybe to Erac Town. I hear they've got an abnormal amount of Bishies showing up around there lately."  
  
"Huh."  
  
"Then again, I gotta get Caramon back from Abby or he'd go mad... and I ain't one to let my Bishies go mad."  
  
Anya blinked. "You know, you ARE low on sugar. You're actually making sense."  
  
Paul's eyes widened. "Damn. I NEED A SLUSHIE NOW!" he told the nearest person behind the counter.  
  
That turned out to be that Bishonen from before, the 'Zander', who sweat-dropped. "Okay, okay," he muttered. "Don't scare away the customers..."  
  
"Here're the seven hot dogs!" the girl from before said, dropping said food in front of Anya. "Anything else?"  
  
"Um... ketchup, mustard, and fries with LOTS of salt would be nice," she said.   
  
"Coming right up!"  
  
Anya passed a hot dog to each of her Bishies, one to Paul, and kept the other two with her. She accepted the ketchup, swallowed her hot dog in about one bite, and offered the condiments to the others.  
  
"Ah, just in time I see!"  
  
Anya turned around. "LSS-sama, you made it!"  
  
"I did indeed. You DID save a dog for me, right?"  
  
Anya handed it to her. "And some fries are on the way. Want any?"  
  
At that point, Paul collapsed to the ground.  
  
"PAUL! You okay- uh..."  
  
Anya sweat-dropped when she realized he was bowing repeatedly to LSS, his head touching the floor. "I worship thee, oh great creator of Bishies! Through thee, anything is possible! Including sugar in this world! An' I thank ye for having pocky here too! Thus I worship thee!"  
  
LSS blinked and sweat-dropped as well. "Uh, thank you?" Then she ^_^ed. "Well, if you feel that way you don't mind if I take your chair do you?"  
  
He shook his head and picked her up and dropped her on said seat.  
  
"Okay Paul... you know what I said about you being low on sugar after all? Never mind," Anya said.  
  
LSS opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the trainer Demoonica. "Hiyas! Want a T-shirt!" she asked.  
  
"Uh, no thanks," Anya said.  
  
"Already got three," LSS said.  
  
"Oh, okay. Oh, if you want we'll polish your belt and Bish-balls for a very low price! We got a professional, ya know! How about it?"  
  
Anya paused and considered that. "Well, I haven't really cleaned it..." She glanced down at her belt and the Bish-balls on it, which were all looking rather dirty. "Sure, I'll do that." She took off her belt, only stopping to take off the occupied Bish-balls before offering the belt to Demoonica. "Please clean this up, would you?"  
  
"Sure thing! Now where's Kagome...?" Demoonica wandered off, Anya's belt in hand.  
  
Anya pocketed her Bishie's Bish-balls and turned back to LSS. "So, uh, glad you made it," she said.  
  
LSS nodded as she swallowed a mouthful of hot dog. "So why don't you tell me about what you mentioned earlier?" she suggested.  
  
"Sure."  
  
~*~  
  
Reyana's Malik glared over his Sennen Rod at Kimiko's Kurama, who ^_^ed and held even more tightly to his whip. The two had been battling for the past few minutes like there was no tomorrow, and both trainers were shouting out their encouragement.  
  
"Come on Malik! You can do this!"  
  
"Kurama, you got this down, you really do! Get him, come on!"  
  
Tasuki took one final swig from his sake bottle before falling over and knocking himself into unconsciousness. His antics, as well as his snoring, caused the battling Bishonen to pause and give him strange expressions.  
  
"Uh.. Wow! Tasuki hasn't even battled yet and he's knocked out cold!" the replacement announcer, a trainer called Blitz, declared.   
  
Kimiko blushed.   
  
"Looks like I owe Tasuki a coin," Kurama murmured with a small smile.  
  
"Eh?" the Malik replied.  
  
"Never mind. Let's battle."  
  
"Right."  
  
~*~  
  
"...I see." LSS frowned as she considered what she had just heard. "And your friends have been talking to the police for a week now?"  
  
"About. A week ago was the last time I saw them, anyway."  
  
"Huh. I'm still wondering why they didn't contact Tokio or myself. Maybe the authorities didn't know I was going to be in town...? This is all very overwhelming and, well, creepy."  
  
Anya nodded.  
  
"Well, thank you for telling me about it. I'll talk to the police and tell them how to narrow their search, as they don't seem to be getting anywhere from what I heard from you. And I'll talk to Tokio about this. We'll figure out how to stop this, believe you me."  
  
"You're welcome, LSS-sama."  
  
"Oh, and thanks for the hot dog. My free time's almost up... I better head back." With that LSS rose from her seat, nodded one more time at Anya, and walked away.  
  
Anya sighed in relief. "Well, at least someone who has some power around here knows."  
  
"Or at least knows more than she did about the problem, no da," Chichiri said. "In any case, what now?"  
  
"...How about we head back and see if Kimiko's still fighting? Or if Jacky and Abby have shown up?"  
  
"Sure, why not?" Sano said, shrugging.  
  
"I don't mind either way, that I do not," came Kenshin's quiet reply.  
  
Heero merely nodded.  
  
"Then let's go get a seat in the stadium and see what's going on!" Anya decided.   
  
"Wait, what about your belt?" Sano asked.  
  
"Oh, that? I should ask about when that'll be done..." Anya stood and walked over to where Demoonica was reading a manga. "Excuse me? When will my belt be done?"  
  
"Um..." Demoonica looked up at the clock. "Soon, I imagine..."  
  
Suddenly the two heard numerous screams from the back room, where Anya's belt was being taken care of. Anya sweat-dropped as she listened to screams, curses, and other odd sounds.  
  
Demoonica blinked and sighed. "Make that an hour or two."  
  
"Okay, thanks. I'll be back for it."  
  
"Wait, what's your name?"  
  
"Anya."  
  
"All right. When you come back show whoever's here your Dex so you can get it back."  
  
"Sure thing." Anya walked back to her Bishonen. "Shall we?"  
  
"We shall," Sano said.  
  
~*~  
  
Hiei watched Anya from around a corner as they left the stand and walked down the hallway. He frowned.  
  
"This may complicate things," he muttered. Then he disappeared to report quickly to Kara before doing anything further.  
  
~*~  
  
So I added... two? Maybe three other people this time? I think? Well, anyway. I added more people in. And look, this chapter's even longer than the last! Aren't I good? I was going to cut it short before LSS heard anything about what was going on... So I'm a good person! ^^  
  
Hope you enjoyed. 


	35. Chapter Thirty Five!

Chapter Thirty-five- Double Catch  
  
Notes- Sorry, it's another short chapter... Gomen nasai!  
  
~*~  
  
"K'so no da!"  
  
Anya blinked and turned in her seat to look at Chichiri. "What is it?"  
  
"I left my hat back at that hotdog place!" The Bishonen gestured towards the sky, which was beginning to darken even though it was early afternoon. "It's gonna rain soon too, no da!"  
  
"I'll get it," Anya said, standing up.  
  
"I'll go with you," Sano and Chichiri began. Then they both blinked at each other.   
  
"That's okay... Heero? Come with me?"  
  
Said Bishonen looked up from the battle below, allowing surprise to flit across his face before he resumed his impassive expression. "Hn," he agreed with a nod. Then he stood and followed her through the seats.  
  
"Don't kill each other," Anya told the three. Then she looked over to the side. "Abby? Hey, Abby?!"  
  
Said trainer was a few seats over hugging her Valgaav, who had passed out a short while ago. Paul's Caramon sat nearby looking decidedly uncomfortable as Abby continued to babble about "Vallie-sama my DARLING" and how he had easily beat his first opponent in the ring. It took a few yells for her to realize that Anya was calling her.  
  
"What, Anya?"  
  
"Watch my Bishies? I'm heading over to the hotdog stand to get Chiri's hat back."  
  
"Hotdog stand? Is there sugar too?"  
  
"Ano, there are slushies and such there... " Anya sweat-dropped as Abby pulled out Valgaav's Bish-ball and made him disappear.  
  
"Caramon, darling, watch the others. I'm off to get me some SUGAR!"  
  
Anya hung her head. Then she blinked as she felt someone poke her in the back. She turned to see Jacky smiling understandingly at her. "I'll watch them all."  
  
"Thanks so much, Jacky," Anya replied.  
  
With that, the two trainers, Heero and a still-passed-out Valgaav made their way from the stadium into the hallways in search of the hotdog stand Anya had been to but an hour ago...  
  
Fortunately, the group had chosen seats in the stadium that weren't too far from said stand, and almost immediately they found the place in question.  
  
Though it had a slight difference.  
  
"THIEF! COME BACK HERE!"  
  
"Nyu-uh!"  
  
"NEW YORK CITY POLICE! COME BACK HERE WITH THOSE, YOU UNTRAINED LOSER!"  
  
"New York City...?" Both trainers blinked as a blur with dark hair and a scar raced by, followed quickly by another dark-haired blur.  
  
"Untrained LOSER? That's a good one!"  
  
Anya blinked, then went starry-eyed. "It's Thatz!" she declared, and quickly pulled out a Bish-ball. "Heero, help that Bishonen stop that Thatz!"  
  
With a "Hn", Heero bolted in front of Thatz. The thief Bishonen did his best to turn and escape by way of another route, but Heero quickly tripped him, sending Thatz skidding for feet on end.  
  
The Bishonen who had been chasing him stopped and leaned against a wall, panting hard. "Whew! Thanks!" he said. "I've been chasing him since he stole our wares back home!"  
  
"Back home...?" Abby wondered aloud. "Then you're free?"  
  
The Bishonen blinked, then stared at her warily. "Uh, hem, maybe, uh, maybe not? Oh look at the time! I oughtta be getting back..." Abby took a step forward, he took a step back.  
  
"I dunno what kinda Bishie you are... but you're awesome!" Abby ^_^ed and pulled out an empty Bish-ball.  
  
"Uh... RYO! HELP ME! RYOOOO!"  
  
Too late. Abby's Bish-ball closed over the Bishonen, and he disappeared in a flash.  
  
Anya, meanwhile, had dropped a Bish-ball on the stunned Thatz's head. He too disappeared without any real fight.  
  
Soon, both trainers were elated; they'd each caught a new Bishie.  
  
"YATTA AN' YOSH!" both declared.   
  
Anya scooped up her Bish-ball first. "Let's meet our new Bishonen, Abby!"  
  
"But of course! I must meet my new darling to-be!"  
  
Heero quietly backed out of earshot and sight so he wouldn't be glomped by mistake, watching his trainer carefully from a distance.  
  
"Thatz, come on out!"  
  
"I choose... whoever the heck you are!"  
  
The two Bishonen reappeared, looking slightly dazed.  
  
Anya smiled at her new Bishonen. "Thatz, I'm Anya your new trainer. Nice to meetcha."  
  
"Aww, you got Thatz..." Abby pouted.  
  
"NO, Abby, I caught him, and he's my Bishonen. Besides, you caught..." Anya looked over Abby's newest Bishonen and blinked. "You've got a Dee! That's awesome!"  
  
"Eh? Dee? Is that good?" Abby asked.  
  
"Yeah, if you're into shounen-ai stuff!" Anya declared. "Dee's from that FAKE manga that just came out."  
  
"Ooh... Never read it!" Abby ^_^ed again and glomped onto Dee. "But who cares?! He's hot and he's MINE!"  
  
Anya sweat-dropped and turned to Thatz, who had his eyes squeezed shut and seemed to be holding his breath. "Um... Thatz? What're you doing, bud?"  
  
He cracked an eye open cautiously. "You're not gonna glomp me?"  
  
"Uh... no?"  
  
"Sure?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Oh." He relaxed and smiled. "Okay. So uh, now that I have this money and we're all buddies an' stuff... can we go now?"  
  
"Money? Oh, no you don't. We're heading back to Demoonica's to return that!" Anya said, taking him by the arm. "Heero, come on will you? Let's go on in. I'll get us more sodas."  
  
Heero, sensing that things were nominally safe for him now, nodded and followed his trainer back to where they'd eaten only a short while ago.  
  
Abby, meanwhile, was still glomped onto Dee, who was quickly losing consciousness (as well as air). "My darling Dee, whoever you are... Mwehehe..."  
  
~*~  
  
"Thanks very much!" Demoonica smiled as she put the money back into the register.   
  
"I don't understand why he did it, though," Anya said, glancing at Thatz. "I mean, sure he's a former thug, but why would he steal from a store? Thatz, wouldn't you be more interested in actual treasure?"  
  
"Yeah, but that's back in my territory and it's a long walk from here," he explained. "Sides, I saw some other Bishie with long hair- I think he was a Duo or somethin'- take money from it."  
  
"Like a Duo-" Demoonica paused, eyes glinting. "Zander. I bet he wanted his split of the paycheck early. Baka, doesn't he know he can get fired for that?!"  
  
"Zander... wait a minute! I think I remember you guys!" Anya said. "You have a Kagome, right? A pregnant Kagome?"  
  
Demoonica smiled. "A formerly pregnant Kagome, yes. She had an Inuyasha a short while back. He's so kawaii! That's right, you were at the baby shower! I forgot to thank you all for coming back then!"  
  
"Yeah, sorry about not remembering earlier," Anya said. "A lot's been going on lately. Bishie catching, kidnapping attempts..." Without looking she grabbed Thatz's arm before he picked up something from the counter. "No."  
  
Thatz pouted. "You're no fun."  
  
"That's all right," Demoonica said. "I forgot too." She ^^;ed, then nodded. "Well, thanks again for your help. And it's a pleasure actually seeing you again. Oh! Your belt should be ready by now. You want it back?"  
  
"But of course! How much?"  
  
Demoonica told her, and Anya paid the bill. Soon the Zander came out with her Bish-belt and Bish-balls in hand, trying to look innocent as he handed them over.  
  
"Zander, my dear Zander, we need to talk," Demoonica said sweetly.  
  
"About what...?" he asked.  
  
"About you taking your paycheck early, hmm?"  
  
He winced. "Demoonica... today's our paycheck day, isn't it? Why does it matter?"  
  
"You wait until the BOSS gives you leave to get your paycheck's worth, my half-Bishie Zander."  
  
Half-Bishie...? Anya blinked. /Cool. He looks a lot like Duo, but... wow. Looks totally like a Bishonen. I hope I didn't say something stupid earlier about him being Bishonen, I'll bet he gets touchy about that stuff.../  
  
"Well, thanks again," Anya said, buckling the belt back on. "Maybe I'll see you all later. For now... I must save a Bishonen from my friend out there."  
  
Demoonica smiled. "Understood. Have a nice day."  
  
"You too." Anya paused. "Wait! Did you guys see Chichiri's hat anywhere?"  
  
"Yeah, we put it in the lost and found! Let me get it for you!" Demoonica ran behind the counter and ruffled through a few things before pulling out said hat. "Here you go!"  
  
"Thanks so much! Bye now!"  
  
"Bye!"  
  
With that, she walked out of the store, Thatz firmly in tow and Heero not far behind. Anya then paused at the sight before her and sighed.  
  
"Abby, MUST you make EVERY single Bishonen you own pass out from lack of oxygen the minute you see them?!"  
  
~*~  
  
"...I see. LSS knows then."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"In that case, I want that trainer and her Bishies with me now, Hiei. Teleport yourself right around the corner from her and get her here as soon as you can."  
  
"You mean teleport right into the stadium? Wouldn't that..."  
  
"...Be dangerous? Yes, Hiei, but I need you to take this risk. I have to have things up and ready very soon or I'll have some angry Bishonen breathing down my neck."  
  
Hiei nodded. "All right. I'll head out now and see if I can grab her."   
  
"Wait..."  
  
The demon Bishonen paused. "What is it?"  
  
"First, teleport all of her Bishonen to separate areas. Don't strain yourself, but... and make sure that Chichiri of hers loses his prayer beads, staff, hat, and cloak. Don't need him to make it that quickly."  
  
"Right, I'm on it." With that, Hiei was gone.  
  
"Oh, Anya, you ARE a difficult person, aren't you? No worries, you'll get to hang out with me here soon enough..."  
  
~*~  
  
(Blinks) WELL then. (Blinks again) It seems as though the plot keeps getting tighter and tighter. Will Hiei succeed? How will the other Bishies react to Anya's newest addition to the group? And how are the other trainers at the tournament doing?  
  
Sore wa himitsu desu. ^_^  
  
(Gets maimed or otherwise injured by every reader she has)  
  
Ow! Ow! I meant for now, darn it! Ow! Ow! (Limps feebly back to her Muses to write the next chapter) Hope you enjoyed, everyone! 


	36. Chapter Thirty Six

Chapter Thirty-six- Darkness  
  
~*~  
  
"Sano."  
  
Said Bishonen blinked and turned around in his seat, looking for the source of the voice. "Uh, hello?"  
  
"What is it, Sano no da?" Chichiri asked.   
  
"I thought I heard someone say my name..."   
  
"It's hard to hear anything in this crowd! You must have just been hearing things no da."  
  
"Probably..." Sanosuke stretched his arms over his head and yawned. "Damn, when's Anya coming back anyway? Probably got lost or somethin'..."  
  
"Or that friend of hers is scaring more poor Bishonen and our trainer's trying to save them!" Chichiri mused.   
  
Sano shuddered. "Please don't remind me of Abby. Saying her name may return her."  
  
"Perhaps so, but then our trainer may return with her ne?" Kenshin said quietly. His voice was so soft and low that it was almost impossible to hear over the crowd surrounding the Bishonen, yet Sano managed to catch it.  
  
"And we have Jacky to protect us too, I guess," Sano said, nodding to said trainer.   
  
She sat a few seats away, with her Inuyasha group of Bishies. Her Miroku, Lech, was tied to his chair as he had attempted to "meet" other women one too many times that day. Shippy was perched on Jacky's lap, waving a little banner that said "Win!" on it. Inuyasha sat there, looking grumpy while Jacky played with his ears.  
  
"Sano!"  
  
"Eh?"   
  
"I heard it that time, no da."  
  
"Shut up," Sano muttered absently, looking around.  
  
"Sanosuke, why don't you try using your brain as well as your ears to figure out where I am?"  
  
"Huh?" The Bishonen turned around to see a very familiar Hiei sitting behind him, smirking. "YOU!"   
  
"Da! It's that Hiei that attacked you!" Chichiri said. He grabbed his staff and stood to face the demon.  
  
"How smart of you. Can you figure this out too?" Hiei made a nasty face, blew a raspberry at them, and turned to race into the inside hallways of the stadium.  
  
"Why you little-!" Sano leaped out and over his seat in pursuit.  
  
"Wait up no da!"  
  
Kenshin stood up and followed after Chichiri, unsheathing his sword.  
  
Jacky, meanwhile, merely glanced up at the four Bishonen leaving and mused, "I wonder what's going on. Sano looked kinda mad."  
  
Inuyasha, who had given up on pulling his ears away from her, had fallen asleep for a few minutes. When Jacky spoke, however, he woke. "Sano? Huh?" He glanced around. "Feh." And with that, he went back to sleep.  
  
~*~  
  
The three Bishonen raced after the Hiei down and through several known and unknown hallways, sometimes pausing to peek into any open doors they saw on the way. After a mere few minutes of this, they were hopelessly lost in the maze of the gym-turned-stadium.  
  
That, however, didn't deter Sano from looking for Hiei.  
  
"Where are you, you little smart-ass!?" Sano yelled down the hall.  
  
"Not so loud," Chichiri began to warn.  
  
"Shut up. I don't need your advice, monk! Where are you, Hiei! Come out and fight!"  
  
Said Bishonen popped his head out of a nearby door and gave a little wave and a smirk. "Why don't you all come in here and talk to me?"  
  
"With pleasure you little $%&#..." Sano cracked his knuckles and marched on in.   
  
"Wait!" Chichiri and Kenshin followed suit, as Sano had begun to close the door behind himself.  
  
The three Bishonen paused for a minute, staring at Hiei.  
  
Then,  
  
"...A storage closet?" Sano asked.  
  
"You get what you deserve," Hiei said. He then grabbed hold of Chichiri and Kenshin. "See you later, friend."  
  
"What the-?!"  
  
Before Sanosuke could say anything, his two fellow Bishies and the Hiei were gone.  
  
"Where did you go?! Damn it, Hiei, where are you? Where did you take 'em? I swear to Kami I'll kill you!"  
  
Sano turned to a nearby wall and punched it, breaking clean through the wood and making a bucket topple from its high perch on a shelf onto his head. Growling, he pulled his arm back through, shoved the bucket off and turned to the door, which had closed during the short time he'd been in there.  
  
The door was locked.  
  
"What the hell?"  
  
~*~  
  
Hiei smirked from the other side of the door as he pocketed the janitor's key to the storage room. "Have a nice stay." He looked around, wrapping a familiar blue cloak with a pattern of white bubbles on it around his shoulders. "Now, to find Anya and her last Bishonen... should be nearby..."   
  
With that, he walked off, and Sano was the only person in the entire hallway, his pounding on the door and his shouts of rage muffled by wall insulation and the thick, locked door.  
  
~*~  
  
Bryanna paused and turned to look behind her, frowning slightly at where she'd just walked a moment ago.  
  
Lina, who was walking beside her, paused as well. "What's up?"  
  
"...I just got a serious case of the creeps."  
  
"About what?"  
  
"I don't know. I'm just thinking that maybe I shouldn't have just left everyone like that. I mean, I haven't had anyone come after me since I left that group. What if... What if that ***** Kara just went and captured everyone else and I was lucky and got away?"  
  
"Um... then lucky you?"  
  
"I'd just feel really guilty about it, that's all."  
  
"You could just fly back and check it out," Yami offered. He'd been listening from up ahead, and was now turning to smile at his trainer. "I'm sure you could manage to get Vegeta to take you there. Somehow."  
  
"Yeah, no food for a day. That'll shut him up for anything," Lina said, stretching her arms over her head.  
  
"You too," Yami said.  
  
Bakura, meanwhile, was still stroking his flamethrower and pouting, mumbling about how unfair it was to keep him from using it on all the pretty wilderness about them.  
  
"Me? No, never!" Lina declared. "Food's just... nice. And good. And... well, how about that? I'm feeling hungry! Let's stop for lunch!"  
  
Yami face-faulted.  
  
"I think you're right, Lina," Bryanna said. "Just to feel better about this whole thing... Vegeta, come out!"  
  
In a flash, said Bishonen appeared and crossed his arms. "What do you want, woman?"  
  
"Can you fly me back to Treah City, Vegeta? I need to check something out there."  
  
"And waste my time with you?"  
  
"Oh, please. It'd take an hour at most for you to get me there if you fly at a rate I could handle."  
  
He snorted. "I don't do 20 mph."  
  
She hit him on the head. "Do it or I won't feed you."  
  
He glared at her now. "That's pushing it."  
  
"That's too bad. Take me, Vegeta, and I won't bother you again for a while, okay? I'll even try my best to find a Goku for you to beat up when we leave. Deal?"  
  
"...Add in one of those green Nameks and you have a deal."  
  
"Okay! Yami, Bakura, Lina, time to return to your Bish-balls for now! Let's go!"  
  
~*~  
  
Anya frowned, puzzled. "Where did everybody go?"  
  
The seats she'd saved for herself and her Bishies were now empty. The only evidence that anyone had been there was an empty candy wrapper.  
  
"I wonder where they are?" She sat down on one of the seats, peering around as she set Chichiri's hat in her lap.   
  
"Bathroom?" Thatz suggested.  
  
"Did I take too long getting back Chiri's hat?" she mused. "Did they go off to find me? Considering what's been going on I wouldn't be surprised. But still, they could have left a note here in case I came back or something- wait." She stood up, putting Chiri's hat on her own head. "Jacky!"  
  
Said trainer looked up. "Oh, hi Anya. Got Chiri's hat, I see. Um... where did Abby go?"  
  
"I really don't know. I think she was chasing her new Bishonen around, last time I saw."  
  
"A new Bishonen?"  
  
"A Dee."  
  
"Never heard of him..." Jacky then caught sight of Thatz. "... Oh! You have a Thatz?! He's from Dragon Knights, right? That's so cool, yet so weird. I mean, you don't expect non-captured Bishies to be hanging out around here. Then again, this gym IS on the outskirts of the city..."  
  
Anya glanced around. "Yeah, uh-huh. Um, where'd everybody go?"  
  
"Sano led them outta here a few minutes ago. He looked kinda mad about something."  
  
"Great, then he WAS going after me. I should go look for them, they'll probably be hanging around Demoonica's stand or something."  
  
"Hn," Heero commented.  
  
"So what now? We lookin' for your other Bishies?" Thatz asked, scratching his head. "Man, and I thought we were gonna order some popcorn or somethin' for the matches today..."  
  
"Not yet, Thatz. I promise when we get everybody back here we'll get you some popcorn, okay?"  
  
"Uh, sure, deal. Let's go then!"  
  
Anya turned right around and marched back into the hallways.  
  
"Everybody's moving around so much today," Jacky's Miroku said.  
  
"Yeah, really," Shippy agreed. "Ah well, good exercise for them!" With a ^_^, he continued watching the match.  
  
"True," Jacky said. However, she couldn't help but feel a little worried about what may be going on.  
  
~*~  
  
Tara's Heero watched the Sama-stage (a.k.a. the 17- year- old version) of Chiriko carefully. As he couldn't use his gun in this battle, his hands were ready to prepare any defense the other could have.  
  
Though still short for his age, the Chiriko was very lean and wiry, able to dodge quite a number of attacks; it was obvious the trainer had worked with him on fighting more than intellectual conversation (which Chirikos were known to prefer). Actually, such intense physical training was all that was keeping the Heero from winning the match hands down.  
  
Chiriko's trainer, Yuriko, was jumping up and down and screaming encouragement to her Bishonen. A Yue, looking a tad put out, stood by her side, though his wings weren't in sight.   
  
"Come on, Chiriko, you can win this! You're doing great!"  
  
Tara pulled out a Mic of her own and yelled, "Heero Yuy, if you mess up this battle you will NOT be allowed to touch ice cream for a week!"  
  
Immediately the entire crowd sweat-dropped, and some trainers were noted to face-fault at this statement.  
  
Heero paused in his battling to blink at her. Chiriko seemed to think this let Heero's guard down, and hurtled at him. Without bothering to look, the Gundam Wing Bishonen flipped the other Bishie over his shoulder and sent him flying right into the ground.  
  
"Riko-chan!" Yuriko cried. "Get up, get up!"  
  
Said Riko-chan, however, was busy @_@ing and was unable to get up without merely falling over again.  
  
"We have a winner!" LSS announced. "The match goes to Tara! Great job you two!"  
  
The crowd cheered.  
  
"Now, guess what we have in store for all of our viewers?" LSS paused for a moment, then announced, "That was the last of the first round battles! Round two is coming up, with two on two Bishie battles!"  
  
The stadium roared in approval of this declaration.  
  
~*~  
  
Somewhere, still in the locked closet, Sano was knocking down the door and also roaring, though in pain and anger instead of approval.  
  
~*~  
  
"Anya?"  
  
The trainer blinked and looked behind her. "Uh... can I help you?" she asked uncertainly.  
  
Hiei came out and nodded. "Yes. As you may recall, I'm Kimiko's Hiei." He crossed his arms and leaned against a nearby wall.  
  
"Okay..."  
  
Heero's eyes narrowed. "Hn..."  
  
Thatz ^_^ed. "Kimiko eh? Another of your friends? A trainer, I take it? So how rich is she? How much money do WE have, by the way? Can I carry the money for you?"  
  
Hiei gave the thief a look, which momentarily silenced him. "I have something to talk to you about; if you don't mind, it's personal and about Kimiko. I'd rather not have your Bishonen hear it."  
  
"Uh..." Anya blinked.   
  
"Request denied," Heero said coolly.   
  
Hiei raised an eyebrow. "I see. And why would that be... friend?"  
  
Anya frowned. "Heero? What's up?"  
  
"Humans. You do think we all look alike," Heero snorted. "This one is an imposter. His eyes are a different color."  
  
"What?!" Anya turned to look more closely at the Hiei, and realized it was true. Kimiko's Hiei, while otherwise looking like any other Bishie, had unnaturally bright eyes. This Hiei had duller ones, older ones.  
  
"Very good, Yuy. I believe any Wufei friends you've had would be proud of you," Hiei said. Then he disappeared.  
  
"Eh?! What the- What's the big idea?" Anya demanded.  
  
Thatz unsheathed his sword. "Earth..."  
  
"No, you can't summon Earth here!" Anya said to him. "That Dragon would destroy half the building just by appearing!"  
  
With a small pout, her Bishonen obeyed. "Fine..."  
  
Heero moved to stand in front of Anya, eyes alert as he pulled out his gun. Anya's eyes widened as she heard the gun make a clicking noise she hadn't heard before; it was loaded and was ready to use.  
  
/For my protection... I did NOT want to.../ "Wait, you're not only another Hiei, you're the one that attacked Sano that one time!"  
  
"Yes. Well, now it's twice, but you are correct nonetheless."  
  
"Twice?! Where is he?"  
  
"He's hanging out in the local janitor's room. I think he's taken an interest to... cleaning!"   
  
Anya felt someone hit her in the back of her head. As she fell to the ground, she could hear Heero's gun going off once, twice, three times. She could also hear Thatz calling for Earth to appear anyway. Then she felt a pair of arms wrap around her before everything went black.  
  
~*~  
  
So what happened to 'Chiri, and Kenshin? What about Heero and Thatz?  
  
I hope you enjoyed this, everyone...  
  
A quick note about Hiei. I dunno if he can in the series, but in here he has the ability to teleport. 


	37. Chapter Thirty Seven Sorry it's so short...

Chapter Thirty-seven- Indifference and Anger  
  
Notes- (In response to reviews) Hey, come on guys! I've been pretty good about cliffhangers up until now, haven't I? At least I haven't had as many as others I could mention. Which I won't since I'm a nice person. Most of the time. ^_^ I hope you enjoy this.  
  
Also, I got a question regarding the length of this story- hai, Neko-chan. The story will only be that long, if not shorter. I want to actually finish a multi-chapter story for once in my life. ^^ To go beyond would ensure me giving up eventually and taking the story off.  
  
Oh, and sorry that this is so short. I mainly wanted to let everyone know I was still alive and kicking- er, writing. ^_^;  
  
Warning- In case I don't finish this in time, school will be beginning soon. Therefore I may or may not be able to update as quickly as I have in the past, or the chapters will be shorter. Please bear with me. Thanks.  
  
~*~  
  
Chichiri shivered as he looked around himself, wondering how on earth he could have gotten to where he was now. Only an hour ago, he'd been at the tournament, chasing after that Hiei who'd tried to capture Sanosuke before.  
  
Now, he was apparently in the middle of a blizzard.  
  
He wrapped his arms around himself, rubbing to cause friction and warmth.   
  
"Damn, but he was smart enough to take my cloak with him, no da," he muttered. He touched his prayer beads, pausing for a moment to measure his ki. "Looks like my earlier spell's starting to wear off. I can't necessarily fly or anything like that, but I should keep myself as warm as possible."  
  
So, much like he had a while ago, he released a small amount of his ki to warm himself as he continued searching for a way out- not to mention, a way to find Anya before he got into deeper trouble than he already was.  
  
~*~  
  
Kenshin blinked, looking around himself. Light filtered in through the leaves of the large trees surrounding the San-staged Bishonen, and it took him a few minutes to realize where he was as opposed to where he should be.  
  
"Annie-dono... she's nowhere nearby." A sudden, urgent mental tug to his left confirmed that notion. "That Bishonen must have magically made us split up, that he must have," he said to the trees. "But why does this place..."  
  
His eyes widened when they found an old knife, rusting in the ground. He looked around again, then closed his eyes for a moment. An almost eager expression came over his features.  
  
"I'm... home."  
  
~*~  
  
"HAAAAA!"  
  
Finally, the door was destroyed, and Sano barged out. His knuckles were bleeding and sore, his face twisted into anger as he looked both ways down the hallway.  
  
"Anya? Where is she?!"  
  
She was gone, he could tell that much by a sudden painful pull that was building up in his chest. His legs yearned to race down one way of the hallway. Snarling, he allowed them to take him, though he doubted he would run into his trainer any time soon. By the feel of that pull, she was over the 3-mile limit by at least ten times.   
  
"Damn it!" He turned down another corridor, still following the pulling sensation; after all, why not humor it for the moment? It may slow the madness while he was looking for her...  
  
The Bishonen nearly went flying as he turned a corner and slammed into two other bodies. He heard two people cry out as he slid on the floor ten feet before stopping.  
  
"Itai..." he and the other two moaned.  
  
Sanosuke jumped up. "Why don't you look where you're- Heero?" He stopped mid-snarl to blink as the other two stood up. "What're you doing? Who's that with you? Know anything about where Anya is?"  
  
Heero took his time in standing up, then walked a ways away from Sano to pick up his gun which, Sano noticed, clicked warningly as Heero did so.   
  
"Loaded...? You ran into that Hiei too."  
  
"Hn." Heero nodded. "This is Thatz, Anya's newest Bishonen."  
  
"Thatz? When'd he show up?"  
  
Said Bishonen stood up and gave a little wave. "Hi, I'm Thatz. The humans say I'm from a 'manga' called 'Dragon Knights'. Anyway, I carry around the Dragon Earth in my sword here. So you're one of Anya's Bishies too? Care to tell me what's going on?"  
  
"The Hiei we ran into was after me last time," Sano said. "Why would he go after Anya this time?"  
  
The three paused. Thatz blinked, as that didn't answer his question, while Heero's eyes narrowed at Sanosuke. Sano slowly nodded.  
  
"I thought so. He took Anya so he could persuade her to give up all of us."  
  
"We have little time. Only two days to find her, and we will not do so on foot," Heero said. He turned away and started to walk down the hallway.  
  
"Wait, where are you going-?"  
  
"Yeah, where IS that guy going? You people psychic or something? What the heck did that guy want with our trainer? What's he want with you? He couldn't want-" Thatz paused, pursing his lips. "Not.. Halflings?"  
  
"Yes," Sano said shortly. He started after Heero. "I don't know where the hell you're going but I hope you have a clue as to what you're doing," Sano said.  
  
Heero turned. There was an odd gleam in his eye that made Sano pause. "Know what I'm doing? Sagara, I have absolutely no clue."  
  
"Great. Just great. Then where are you going?"  
  
"To report our loss to LSS-sama. As one of the two Masters in this world, she should be able to help us."  
  
"She sure as hell better. If Anya gets hurt or anything of the like, I swear to Kami-sama I'll-"  
  
"What? We can do nothing now but try to go to her."  
  
"..." Sanosuke let his shoulders slump. "Damn it, I know that... let's go find this LSS-sama. Hopefully she'll be out doing that announcing thing."  
  
"Let us hope."  
  
~*~  
  
"...Vegeta?"  
  
"What is it NOW, woman?"  
  
Bryanna hit him on the head. "Don't call me a 'woman'. I want to ask you a question."  
  
"So ask it."  
  
"Okay. How long have we been flying around?"  
  
"The HELL should I know? Do I look like I have a watch on me?!"  
  
"We've been flying for three hours, and I still see no Treah City. It should have taken an hour at least."  
  
"Yes, so?"  
  
"So my real question is WHERE THE HELL ARE WE?!"  
  
"..." Vegeta thought about that for a few minutes. "Apparently, we're not at Treah City yet."  
  
"I could SO hurt you right now."  
  
"Then you wouldn't have a ride to your precious city, would you?"  
  
"Great. Just great. My Vegeta's the strongest one out there but he's navigationally impaired," she mumbled.  
  
"I am NOT!"  
  
"Then why are we lost?"  
  
"We're not lost!"  
  
"Oh yeah, then where are we?"  
  
The Saiyan prince Bishonen paused, then smirked. "Well, that's a simple one woman. You're right behind me and I'm right in front of you."**  
  
((These last few lines have been brought to you by Due South; Mounty on the Bounty. I do not own these lines, but I love them dearly. Thank you.))  
  
"Damn it, Vegeta! Land somewhere so I can get a map. It SHOULDN'T be that hard for you to find something."  
  
"Has it occurred to you, my 'dear' trainer, that perhaps the world has recently expanded?"  
  
"Again?" She moaned. "Great timing for a new forest or desert to show up so I can't find my way back! This SUCKS! Well... I guess all we can do is try to find a city and land there. You CAN find at least ONE city, can't you?"  
  
Vegeta growled. "Watch your tongue when speaking to the Prince of Saiyans, you little brat, or it will be me who shall be harming you."  
  
"Oh, I'm so scared. Someone help me. Now let's get going!"  
  
"Hmph." With that, Vegeta started searching for a city to land in.  
  
~*~  
  
LSS looked at the policeman with one eyebrow raised. "You're kidding. So they already reported to you what's going on?"  
  
"Yeah, at least a week or so ago. I've been looking for this Kara for a while."  
  
"And you haven't found her WHY?"  
  
"Because it's so damn hard to track! I mean, sure, we're checking out every place that you don't get Dex signals, but there are tons of places like that! And we can't depend on looking in places that have electricity or the like, either, because we may invade a Bishonen city by accident. It's not as easy as it looks, you know!"  
  
She sighed. "Still... At least you found the mountain range."  
  
"Some guys in that part of the world are combing those mountains as we speak. So far they've checked three or four, and haven't found anything yet. We'll find them, don't worry!"  
  
"I hope so. Well, thanks anyway officer. And give those girls my regards- the ones that told you about this stuff, I mean."  
  
"Assuming I see them again. They're sulking because I've been keeping them so much they missed the registration of the tournament."  
  
"Ah. Well, bye." With that, LSS walked back out to make her way down the streets and alleys back to said tournament.  
  
~*~ 


	38. Chapter Thirty Eight!

Chapter Thirty-eight- Awakening  
  
Notes- I be a good person! ^^; Longer chapter, twice as long as the last. And you get to see what's going on with certain people. AND some trainers who haven't had big parts come back here! Please enjoy, everyone!  
  
~*~  
  
"Maaaan. Once again, it's a no show for me." Paul stretched his arms over his head as he walked down the corridor to his room with Raistlin in tow. "I mean, come on! What's with people ignoring me, huh?"  
  
"I have no clue as to what you are referring, 'trainer' mine," Raistlin whispered.  
  
The trainer paused to blink thoughtfully at that. "You know something, Raistlin? I don't have a clue either! That's one more thing we have in common!"  
  
"...Fool."  
  
The two went on into Paul's hotel room, where both stopped and stared at the mess all over the room. Paul blinked, and Raistlin sighed and once again took the coffeepot so he could brew his medicine in it.   
  
"Excel...?"  
  
"Haaaaai?" Excel bounded out of the bathroom, eyes wide and sparkly.  
  
"Um, what did you do to this place?"  
  
"Hmm? Oh, hi Paul trainer person! I just saw an Iilpallazo-sama in the street and I thought maybe he was the one we were going to meet after all this time, so I waved to him but he wouldn't look up, he looked like he was running for dear life. So then I grabbed the curtains and waved them and opened the window to shout at him, but he kept going! Poor Iilpallazo-sama! I wonder what caused him to run for his life like that? But anyway so I tried waving the TV instead but I had closed the windows and sort of forgot to hold on to the TV and threw it onto the sidewalk, and I think I injured Hat-chan! Ahh, poor Hat-chan!"  
  
From outside the window came a very weak, "Ow."  
  
"Anyway, so by then Iilpallazo-sama was almost out of sight so I was looking in the bathroom for a microphone or something like that. You'd think the hotel people would put things where they're supposed to be, but they don't, how unfair it that?!." Excel ^_^ed.   
  
Paul blinked again. He found it amazing that despite the fact that he could tell Excel had said a number of different sentences, she had still said all that in the space of two breaths. "Okay... Have you seen Abby?"  
  
"Ah, the formerly blue, red, purple and pink-haired one who is currently known as the Almighty Green-Haired F.I.P.? No I have not seen her yet today I'd say she's on the lookout for Iilpallazo-sama for me. Though I thought I may have seen her chasing after Iilpallazo-sama shouting something like 'Come to me my love' while dragging some weird cop Bishie that I didn't know and with her Valgaav, the other Green-Haired One who is not also an F.I.P. with her."  
  
"Um... okay."  
  
Paul looked around the utterly destroyed room, with the addition of the broken windows and a TV cord hanging from it, and ^^;ed. "It's not THAT bad," he decided, and flopped on the bed to read manga.  
  
Raistlin watched this for a while. Then he turned away, brewing his medicine. He murmured, "I cannot believe that I'm saying this, but it was more sensible traveling around with my brother!"  
  
~*~  
  
Speaking of brothers, Caramon was busy chasing after Abby, who was chasing after some poor soul called "Iilpallazo-sama my LOVE". Though he was pretty certain that the last two words weren't really part of his name.  
  
Finally, he caught up to his temporary trainer, who had immediately given up on Iilpallazo for a dark-haired Bishonen with odd, dark red eyes.  
  
"Ah, Vincent my dearest! Though you are not my love, you ARE my dearest, therefor you are my Vincent!"  
  
"...What...?" the Bishonen choked.  
  
Caramon hung his head as an enraged trainer came with an alarmingly large purse swinging around at eye level. Then he walked over and began to drag Abby, with the Bishonen and all, back from whence they came (that is, the tournament, where they had a battle in about fifteen minutes).  
  
"Noooo, VINCENT MY DEAREST DARLING! I SHALL NEVER LET YOU GO!"  
  
"...Cannot.... Breathe..."  
  
"GET BACK HERE WITH MY VINCENT OR I'LL SEND MY CLOUD AFTER YOU!"  
  
Abby began to laugh at that. "Oh yeah? What'll you do, make him attack me with that oversized butterknife?"  
  
"Ooh, you are SO asking for it! GIMME BACK MY VINCENT!"  
  
"NEVAH!"  
  
"...Why am I always stuck with weird people?" Caramon asked the sky.  
  
~*~  
  
Speaking of being stuck with people...  
  
Jacky found herself slowly growing more and more concerned as neither Anya nor her Bishonen reappeared in their seats for the next hour and a half. The only reason she hadn't gone to look for them was because Inuyasha had threatened to sit on her if she moved or so much as talked for the rest of the matches.  
  
"Damn it, I want to see what's going on down there!" were his words.  
  
Now, while having Inuyasha sit on her wouldn't be a BAD thing, her Miroku had immediately gained a hurt look and accused her of not loving him.  
  
"Why can Inuyasha sit on your lap if I can't?" he whined.  
  
So, facing the thought of BOTH her favorite Bishonen AND a Bishonen obsessed with having a child sitting on her, Jacky remained silent and played with Shippy's tail.  
  
Finally, however, she couldn't take it and stood up.  
  
"Woman," Inuyasha said. "Sit down. The next battle's going to start."  
  
"Shut up. I'm going to find Kimiko."  
  
With that, she walked off.  
  
"What's with trainers leaving their Bishonen alone these days" Miroku complained. "And what's with leaving poor ME tied to this chair? I'm thirsty, and hungry, and in need of serious attention and love!"  
  
Inuyasha sweat-dropped and smacked his fellow Bishonen on the head. "Feh. Baka."  
  
"All right, everyone! The next battle shall commence as of now!" a young man on the field declared. "I know you're all wondering where LSS-sama went, folks, and frankly so am I. But you can live with me for a while longer, can't you?" He smiled at a few cheers from the stands. "Heh, heh... thanks! Now, allow me to introduce our battlers... TARA VERSUS PIXIE!"  
  
The crowd cheered again as both trainers marched out, waving more enthusiastically at the stands than they had before.  
  
"You'll remember these two as having awesome battles with Gundam Wing Bishonen. Hopefully we'll get another chance to observe those Bishonen, as well as from other animes! After all, with two on two battles now, it's bound to be a great fight!"  
  
Pixie was the first to pull out a Bish-ball, followed by Tara. The two watched each other for a long moment before releasing their Bishies. Pixie let out her Sesshomaru, while Tara released her Xellos.   
  
"Aah! And a demon battle commences, with Sesshomaru fighting for Pixie, and a Xellos for Tara! Let's see who has mastered the most of their magical and fighting skills, shall we?"  
  
Meanwhile, Jacky had run into Kimiko and MorTae, who were currently in a deep discussion about what kind of Bishonen they preferred.  
  
"...magical ARE cool, but ya gotta get some fighters in there too, or you'll be really unprepared for some fights," Kimiko was saying. "That's why I have Bishies like Tasuki, ya know? Not only is he an awesome Bishonen in himself, but he has a magical tessen AND he can brawl with anyone any day and be perfectly happy to do so."  
  
"Point taken. Though I think you need normal kinds too, or ones with speed on their side," MorTae was saying thoughtfully.   
  
"Hey guys," Jacky said.  
  
"Oh hey, Jacky! MorTae, this is Jacky. She's a friend."  
  
MorTae blinked. "Wow, you look almost exactly like a Kagome!"  
  
Jacky smiled, blushing slightly. "Thanks, I get that sometimes. Um, hey, Kimiko. Have you seen Anya or her Bishies around lately?"  
  
"Eh? I thought Anya was wandering around with Abby or something. And if I know Abby, she's probably latched onto a Bishonen that's not hers at the moment," Kimiko said.  
  
"Heh, I know that type of trainer all too well. Was one myself, ya know!" MorTae said, grinning. "But to preserve a Bishonen, you gotta cut down on glomping. You know, I heard that not glomping a Bishonen can give them a longer life span!"  
  
"Um... they generally live longer than us ANYWAY, MorTae," Kimiko said.  
  
"Well, yeah, but... never mind..." MorTae sulked. "No one understands..."  
  
"I guess you're right about Abby," Jacky said, smiling. "And if Abby's out there chasing a Bishonen, Anya's probably chasing her and trying to save those poor Bishies! Maybe I'm just worrying about nothing..."  
  
~*~  
  
"The tracks are fresh, only about an hour old," Washu noted.  
  
Professor Steve nodded and stood from where he'd been kneeling on the floor. "I still find it fascinating how you can pick up one pair of feet from the millions that walk this hallway."  
  
"Well, how many people wander around in Meiji Era sandals?" Washu asked smugly. "It's all a matter of common sense, after all."  
  
"True, true... very well. What still amazes me, however, is how on earth this Megumi manages to wander the halls without ever being seen, or how she can get in and out of the tournament like this. You ARE certain she's still not caught?"  
  
"Please, Steve. If she was caught, the lucky trainer would probably be flaunting- oh, my." Washu's smug expression faded into one of mild interest and disgust as she saw something behind her trainer.  
  
"What is it?" Steve turned to see what his Bishoujo found so interesting to look at.  
  
A Sanosuke was staggering down the hallway, looking like he'd had one too many drinks. Each step made his knees wobble, as though he was ready to collapse and pass out at any time.   
  
However, his eyes held a certain gleam that just didn't seem to fit the 'drunken state' description.  
  
Washu blinked, then quickly typed something in to her laptop. "This is the Sanosuke that is with the trainer known as Anya. I believe we met the other day," Washu noted.   
  
"I see. Yet I do not see his trainer. I wonder what she's doing, letting her Bishonen wander around like..."  
  
Washu looked up at Sanosuke, taking a few steps closer to him. Sanosuke didn't seem to notice, continuing to take step after step down the hallway. She peered up into his eyes, then suddenly paled and took a step back away from him.  
  
"What is it?" Steve asked.  
  
"This Bishonen... is going insane."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"His trainer is nowhere nearby. This is the first stage of madness for a Bishonen."  
  
"What kind of a trainer leaves a Bishonen behind?" Steve demanded. "I thought that Tokio-sama and LSS-sama got rid of those types of people immediately! Is there any way we could help?"  
  
Washu shook her head. "Not unless we found his trainer..."  
  
Sanosuke took another step, stumbled, and fell face first on the floor.  
  
There was a long silence as Steve and Washu stared at him. Then, the Bishonen uttered a quiet, "Ow."  
  
"Sanosuke!" came a voice from down the hall.  
  
Washu looked up and blinked as a Heero and Thatz came down the hallway towards the Sanosuke. The Thatz roughly put Sanosuke back on his feet, while Heero took a moment to lean against a nearby wall for support.   
  
The Bishoujo frowned. "These two are going through the same thing as this Sanosuke, only more slowly. I imagine they share the same trainer."  
  
"Uh, yeah, we do. You know Anya?" Thatz asked, keeping Sano from falling over again.  
  
"Your trainer met with us on one occasion, yes," Steve said. "Where IS your trainer?"  
  
"Kidnapped. We're looking for LSS-sama. We need to talk to her right away," Thatz explained. "Sano... he's having a rough time of it."  
  
"How long has it been?"  
  
"About five hours. We would have asked someone sooner, but we somehow ended up getting lost in the basement of this place for most of that time, after wandering numerous hallways with no one in sight."  
  
"Any idea who kidnapped your trainer?" Washu asked. "I can locate anyone on my computer, be it trainer or Bishie, or even an animal or plant. Doesn't matter if she has her Dex with her!"  
  
Heero looked up and gave the Washu a suspicious glance. "Why would you help us?"  
  
"Because I don't like having mad Bishonen in my hands, especially when there's no cure besides finding your trainer," Washu said. She plopped down on the floor and opened a program. "So who do you think kidnapped your trainer, and where do you think they may have gone?"  
  
~*~  
  
"Ugh..."  
  
Anya slowly woke up and glanced around herself as she came back into consciousness. Rather, she tried to; it was hard to glance around when it was so dark she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. She couldn't feel much, either. There wasn't much moving air in, well, wherever she was. The only sure thing she could tell was that she was lying on a carpet of some sort.  
  
Slowly, the area she was in began to lighten up. To Anya's great relief, it wasn't sudden. The lighting came on very slowly, bit by bit, as though whoever was controlling it knew how painful sudden light in a very dark area could be to a formerly unconscious person.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
As the light brightened, Anya found herself in a large, round room with very little in the way of furniture. There was the large, nondescript blue carpet she was lying on; there was a table on the far side of the room; and there was a familiar looking redhead lying nearby, looking as confused as she was...  
  
"...Kara?"  
  
The redhead turned to look at her, surprise etched upon her face. "Anya? What're you doing here?"  
  
"What're YOU doing here? What'm I doing here?! Where am I?"  
  
"How should I know? What's with this place?" Kara looked around. "Wow, talk about lack of furniture, eh? Must've spent all the money on the SPACE as opposed to FILLING the space."  
  
Anya frowned, rubbing her head. For some reason, she had the beginnings of a headache coming on. Plus, something just didn't feel right; there was an unsettling feeling. That something was missing... "Cut the crap, Kara. I know that you're the person behind the kidnapping. What's going on and where the hell am I?"  
  
Kara sighed and shrugged. "Jeez, just wanted to have a little friendly small talk before we got to business." She stood up and stretched. "Have a nice nap? Sorry Hiei knocked you out for so long, the guy doesn't know his own strength sometimes..."  
  
"That doesn't answer my question."  
  
"Calm down. You're in my laboratory. In one of the little rooms that I have no real use for."  
  
"I'm in a laboratory designed to force people to have half Bishies as kids, knowing I'm probably going to be used as one of said people, and you're asking me to calm down?!"  
  
"Actually, you're not."  
  
Anya blinked. "...Huh?"   
  
"I don't want to use YOU as a mother. After all, we are friends." Kara smiled and gave a little peace sign. "All I want is for you to agree to let me use your Bishies as the... fathers... of these halflings."  
  
"Kara, you know I won't."  
  
"Do I?"   
  
"Yes. Come on, Kara. Let's be realistic here. The Bishonen hate the half Bishies. The HUMANS don't really CARE about the half Bishies. Except of course when the halfling in charge is an insane one, then humans don't particularly like them. Now WHY would I agree to something my Bishonen would hate?"  
  
"Because doing something you hate is better than going mad and dying, isn't it?"  
  
"What?!"  
  
Kara waved a hand. "Your Bishonen... ne, Hiei! Could you turn on a screen and hook it up to a satellite or something? I wanna see how her Bishonen are doing."  
  
"What are you doing to them?"  
  
"Me? I'm not doing a thing to them. You're the cause of their current suffering. Now, it's only been a few hours, so some aren't as bad as others... but I suggest you make a decision about whether you want to help them out or not."  
  
Anya balled up one fist, then the other. "Okay, Kara. Here's my decision. #^$&@#)%!"   
  
With that, the trainer threw a punch that even Sano would be proud of at Kara.  
  
Kara took the blow full in the stomach, keeling over for a moment. Then she stood up, swallowing and looking like she couldn't breathe.  
  
Hiei appeared as a screen nearby came on, and pulled Anya's arms behind her back so she couldn't use them.  
  
"Damn it!"  
  
The other trainer took in a deep breath as her air returned to her, then sighed. "I guess you need more time, huh? Very well. Oh, and don't try anything with your Bish-balls; that barrier could kill you if you don't watch it. Hiei! Make sure the screen shows ALL of her Bishonen. And how they're doing. Let's go."  
  
"Sure, Kara." With that, Hiei released Anya, took a hold on his trainer, and the two disappeared.  
  
"Why that...! What did she mean by Bish-balls?"  
  
Anya looked around the room. Then her eyes fell on that table.  
  
"There they are! Just lying there like that! She is such a baka..."  
  
The trainer started her way over, then paused.  
  
"But she said there's a barrier... Hell with it."  
  
She took a few steps more. Nothing. Another step. That table was looking pretty good now. Another two steps. Still nothing. "Musta been a bluff," she mumbled. Then she took another-  
  
"AIIIIIIYE!" She pulled back her arm, which she'd extended to reach for her belt (and the five balls sitting beside it, the ones that had been in her pocket a while back). Then she looked at her arm.  
  
Nothing. There were no marks, no bruises, not even a cut of some sort.  
  
"That HURT." She sat down where she was, cradling the throbbing arm, and looked up at the screen.  
  
Her eyes widened.  
  
"Sano? 'Chiri? Kenshin?"  
  
~*~  
  
Kenshin wasn't doing too badly, considering he had been away from his trainer for about six or seven hours now. Sure, he was starting to feel lightheaded, and maybe he did have trouble seeing now, but still! He didn't feel insane, and wasn't that the important part?  
  
Besides, he was starting to feel hungry. Insane people didn't feel hungry, did they...?  
  
"My family... I haven't seen them in so long, that I have not," he murmured. "I should go find Annie-dono, that I should. Demo, why not see my family while I search for a way back to her, de gozaru yo?"  
  
He paused, then smiled faintly. "I suppose I'm growing faster than I thought, if I speak like my father," he said.   
  
Suddenly, the Bishonen stumbled over a tree root, and he ended up looking up at the tree branches above, feeling mildly surprised at how he'd wound up on the ground like that. Then he tried to stand up...   
  
And couldn't.  
  
"Kami, this isn't good, that it is not," he said. Was it him, or were tree branches starting to multiply? Could trees do that? "Perhaps..."  
  
His eyes flashed gold as he went from soft-spoken to Battousai mode. One hand searched for his sword, while the other assisted him in standing again.  
  
"A Battousai is already insane," he said. "Perhaps, this will ease my descent for a time, that it may."  
  
With that, he continued to wander off in search of his parents.  
  
~*~ 


	39. Chapter Thirty Nine FINALLY up! Yosh!

Chapter Thirty-Nine- Fighting  
  
Notes- I apologize for the long wait. Here's my excuse for why it took longer than usual:  
  
Day 1. Get up, write story. Read over briefly. Go to bed.  
  
Day 2. Get up, read chapter again for errors. Fix errors. Not allowed online. Go to bed.  
  
Day 3. Get up. Start up computer. Won't go online. Restart computer. Computer DIES. Whack computer with hammer repeatedly until parents buy a new hard drive.  
  
Days 4-whatever. Get up. Attempt to save everything on fanfiction back to computer. Go to sleep.  
  
Again, I apologize. It takes so long when you have to completely rewrite a long chapter, too! -_- Please enjoy anyway!  
  
~*~  
  
"This certainly is not good."  
  
Chichiri shivered as a draft of wind blew by, freezing him through flesh and bone. For a moment, he had trouble breathing. Then the wind died down a bit.  
  
"Suzaku, must I recast every other moment?" he muttered at the sky. Then he gave a small sigh and put his fingers to his lips, closing his good eye. "Here goes..."  
  
Doing his best to ignore the ice cold flakes of snow melting in the back of his shirt, not to mention the fact that he was standing knee-deep in snow and ice, he muttered a quick spell. Sudden warmth filled him, easing the biting cold, and he relaxed before trying to figure out which way he was going again.  
  
The pulling sensation told him to head to his left now. Figuring that it had prevented his total descent into illness or insanity of any sort so far, it wouldn't hurt to continue following the sensation now.  
  
Suddenly, the Bishonen sneezed. Then he rubbed his nose ruefully.  
  
"Okay, maybe not every single illness no da. Just the important ones." /Anya-dono... I hope you're okay, and that I can reach you and the others soon. Either by random chance or by sensing where you are... Suzaku, if only I had my staff, or my hat or even my cloak, then I could channel my powers enough to get out of here!/  
  
He sneezed again as the wind started up again, and gave a little shiver. Then he let his shoulders slump as he once again raised his fingers to his lips...  
  
~*~  
  
"Sano? Chiri? Kenshin?"  
  
Anya stared up at the large screen in front of her incredulously. She wasn't sure whether she should believe what she was seeing or not at first. However, she slowly began to suspect that she knew why she felt like a part of her was missing at the moment.  
  
The screen was split into three parts. The first had Kenshin on it. He was currently leaning against a tree, his eyes closed and his sword held tightly in one hand. When he opened his eyes, she could see a flash of gold before he turned away to wander through the woods (which, for some reason, looked very familiar).  
  
The second screen had Chichiri on it. The monk was hatless and without a cloak, but thankfully he seemed to be doing all right. Well, if one would consider stumbling through an ice field in knee-deep snow all right. Every once in a while, the Bishonen would pause to put his fingers to his lips and mutter a spell. A red glow would surround him, and he would go on.  
  
The final part of the screen had Sanosuke, Heero and Thatz on it, as well as a familiar trainer and his Washu on it. Thatz, Heero, and Washu were sitting on the ground. The trainer- Steve, she recalled- stood, pacing about.   
  
As for Sanosuke...  
  
"Gods," she breathed, and reached out to touch the screen.  
  
Sanosuke almost looked worse than he had when Hiei had beaten him up. While he didn't seem to have any broken limbs, bruises were growing on his arms, hands, and face. He seemed to be breathing harder than Thatz and Heero were, though those two were panting like they'd just run a few miles without a rest. Her first Bishonen was lying on the ground, apparently unconscious.  
  
"Sano... guys... this is crazy! This is SICK, that's what it is!" She stood up and leaned against the nearest wall. She banged her head against said wall once, twice, then three times before looking back at the screen.  
  
/Damn it! I can't do this. I can't stand this. Kara's driving them insane. I can't let them go that way, but I can't let them be subjects to some sick experiment, either!/  
  
Her eyes fell on the table, a few feet away. The table sat there, seemingly harmless, with her Bish-belt, Dex, and Bish-balls lying on top.   
  
/Too bad they thought to check my pockets for everyone's Bish-balls before putting up that barrier. But of course, that would be so much easier.../ Anya sighed. /Well, there's nothing to do but try again./  
  
She pushed herself off of the wall, and studied the table.  
  
/So where did the barrier begin? Let's see.../  
  
The trainer began to walk slowly towards the table. At first, she couldn't feel anything. Then, she felt a slight pressure against her eardrums, as though she was on an airplane. Then she felt like she was being pricked by a needle on both arms. She winced at that and continued to the spot right before her arm had begun to throb.  
  
She paused here, staring at the table. /It's only seven feet away. This shouldn't be so hard. I can stand the discomfort so far.../ "OW!"  
  
She pulled back as a sharp pain shot through her arms and legs. Then she stared incredulously at the table. Slowly, she put out one arm again. "HEY! OW!" She snatched said arm back, nursing it carefully while glaring at the table. "Damn."  
  
/If only I had something to use for reaching over there to knock the things off the table. Then I could probably get to them while minimizing my own pain... hopefully... I would just try to run in there, but Kara did say it could kill me. And as doubtful as I am of her advice these days, I'd rather not run the risk./  
  
Anya glanced around the barren room. /Now what can I use...? Maybe my clothing? Nah. Um... I need something solid but long... Long and solid... Hmm./  
  
Her eyes fell on the large screen, and she gave a grim smile before clenching her fists.  
  
~*~  
  
"Hmmm..."   
  
Washu paused for a moment, considering the laptop in front of her for a long moment. Then, she typed something with an added flourish to the end as she hit the confirm key. After another long moment, she grinned and punched the air with one fist. "Yosh! I got the location!"  
  
"Where?" Heero asked quietly.  
  
"Whoa, man. It's hundreds of miles away from here. It's amazing that your trainer only got there in a matter of seconds instead of minutes. Then again, there are black markets and such where people are beginning to deal in teleporters and the likes for human beings." Washu nodded at this.  
  
Steve looked over his Bishoujo's shoulder and nodded in approval. "Good job, Washu."  
  
"Hai. Arigatou, Washu-san," Heero said.  
  
Washu smiled at him. "You're welcome. There's just one favor I must ask of you, now that I'm doing this for you."  
  
Heero instantly became wary. "What?"  
  
Washu ^_^ed. "Will you call me Washu-chan?"   
  
Steve and Thatz fell over, while Heero sweat-dropped. "Ano..."  
  
Sano gave a little groan and twitched before returning to unconsciousness.  
  
"He will, he will," Steve said, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm sure."  
  
"Great! Moving on." Washu regained her serious expression. "Your trainer is located in a mountain cave in the middle of the second largest mountain range there is here. At least, the second largest for now. You never know when new things pop up around here, after all... huh."  
  
"Huh what?" Steve asked.  
  
"Looks like there are a few helicopters and such flying around the place." Washu typed something, then smiled. "Ah, human police. My guess is they're searching for this kidnapper. She must be a very busy woman to have so many people looking for her and the kidnapped at once!"  
  
"All the better." Heero glanced at the laptop. "We must now figure out a plan for retrieving our trainer."  
  
There was a long silence. Then Steve snapped his fingers. "Ah! I know who can help you all! Skuld's her name, and she's one of my other Bishoujo! She could teleport you anywhere you'd want to go! Yup!" Steve nodded at that.  
  
"Really?" Thatz asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Though... Ano, Steve..." Washu sweat-dropped.  
  
"What?"  
  
"What about this morning...?"  
  
Heero blinked. "Morning?"  
  
Steve coughed. "Oh yes, that."  
  
"Yes, that," Washu agreed. "She may still be... well..."  
  
"I know. But then again... I don't know any other Bishies that could teleport them, and some machine won't get them there no matter how fast it is."  
  
Washu nodded, looking a bit sad. "I'm sorry I can't help on that scale, Steve. If only you'd caught one of my cousins, too..."  
  
"And have TWO Washu-chans to deal with? I think one's enough for now," Steve said.  
  
Washu grinned.  
  
"So where is this Skuld of yours? Let her out already!" Thatz said, seemingly oblivious to the entire past conversation.  
  
"Ano... she's back in our hotel room, a few blocks from here," Steve said, giving a little cough. "Why don't we head over there and grab her, then she can teleport you?"  
  
"Great!" Thatz said, and stood up. Heero slowly followed Thatz's lead, pulling Sanosuke up with him.   
  
Sano gave a groan, and opened his eyes. Washu and the others recoiled slightly; those eyes were bloodshot, and none too calm.  
  
"Anya?" he whispered. "Where'ya? Feel sick... might sick... haha.... Yea, hahaha... Anya, where'd ya go?"  
  
"We need to hurry, in case you didn't notice," Washu said quietly to Steve. Her trainer nodded and gestured down the hallway.  
  
"The closest exit is this way. Thankfully, we won't have to go too far to get to Skuld."  
  
"And hopefully, it won't take too long for Skuld to agree to help us out," Washu said. "Come on, let's hurry. You two seem sane enough; carry your Sanosuke friend there for us."  
  
Thatz looked a little uncertain at that, as he suddenly felt a pang of need to go in the opposite direction. However, he swallowed and nodded, knowing that he wouldn't have to put up with it for much longer. He moved to help Sanosuke to his feet.   
  
Sanosuke, however, seemed to think that the floor was a nice place to be. His head lolling, he muttered something that made Thatz turn red before sliding back onto the ground.  
  
Washu sighed. "Oh for crying out loud! Drag him if you have to!" With that, she and Steve started off. Thatz followed them, dragging Sano by one foot. Then he stopped after a few steps and turned back, staring at where he'd been.  
  
Trainer and Bishoujo stopped when they realized they weren't being followed, and turned to see Heero remaining where he was, staring off in another direction. "Heero? What is it?" Steve asked.  
  
"Anya."  
  
"I know. She's very far away, but-"  
  
"She's that way." Heero pointed in the opposite direction from where they had been headed.  
  
"I know, but we need to go this way." Steve pointed in the correct direction.  
  
Heero shook his head, suddenly looking very confused. "But she's this way," he said, continuing to point.  
  
Thatz slowly nodded. "Yeah. We need to go that way," he said, walking towards Heero.  
  
"Anya's that way," Heero repeated.  
  
Washu threw up her hands. "Great! Now THEY'RE getting worse."  
  
Sano "Blagh"-ed and and coughed before muttering and laughing at something he had said.  
  
"Not good," Steve said. "Okay, fine. I'll go get her. Washu, you stay here."  
  
"Are you kidding, you need protection!" Washu said, glaring at her trainer. "Especially after that wise crack you made this morning. I'm surprised you got outta there alive! Hell, I'm surprised the world's not been destroyed yet!"  
  
Steve visibly paled, but shook his head. "I'm going. Washu, keep an eye on them. Try and keep them all together and in one place. It slows their madness or dying."   
  
She sighed, frowning, and crossed her arms. "All right, Steve. Hurry back, and don't get yourself harmed. Okay?"  
  
"I promise." With that, he ran off.  
  
Washu hung her head for a moment, then turned around to take charge of the situation.  
  
She blinked.  
  
Heero was gone.  
  
"DAMN it! Where is he?!" Gaining a sudden super strength, she grabbed a stumbling Thatz by the ear, and Sano by a leg. Then she proceeded to haul them through the hallways, searching for where Heero could have gone.  
  
~*~  
  
In the shadows, a slim, tall figure observed all that was happening with keen, sharp eyes. Her sandals dangled from one hand, while her other hand went to her medicine pouch. Eyes narrowing when she spotted the Sanosuke, she realized that it was now time to make a decision.  
  
Should she stay in hiding, or help those who obviously needed it?  
  
The needs of a Bishoujo versus the needs of others... A doctor's constant dilemma...  
  
She sighed, and tossed her long hair over one shoulder. Well, they were bound to find her anyway. There had already been some close calls. With any luck, she could be in and out of sight before that trainer returned...  
  
With that thought, she began to trail after the Washu...  
  
And that Sanosuke...  
  
~*~  
  
((This next part is dedicated to a certain Tomo-no-Kakaka for helping me come up with this idea. ^^; Enjoy.))  
  
"Now, stay here and DON'T destroy anything," Paul told Excel sternly. "If I see you've so much as messed up the covers on the bed, you will NEVER get to see Iilpallazo-sama. Got it?"  
  
Excel's eyes became big and watery. "Hai, I understand completely! I will not harm a hair on a head in here! Though my head will be the only one in here and therefore I will only be able to hurt myself, which I would never do anyway unless of course Iilpallazo-sama ordered it! Oh, Iilpallazo-sama..."  
  
Paul sighed. "You're being annoying. Which means I need another sugar refuel. Now, not a SINGLE thing destroyed. Got it? Come on, Raistlin." With that, he turned and left, with his mage Bishonen following.  
  
Excel waved. "Okay, Paul! I shall wait until your return, then maybe we can go see my Iilpallazo-sama! Until then... perhaps I should see what is going on in the world. Then perhaps I can report more corruption to the Iilpallazo Paul knows and I will soon meet!" Her watery eyes became starry as she sighed in anticipation. "Hai, that's what I'll do!" With that, she grabbed the remote control and began to flip through channels.  
  
"Bah, news... news... Trigun... huh, nothing new to report, at least no new corruption. Is our ACROSS team really being that effective? What a thought!" Suddenly she stopped. "Eh?" She clicked back a few channels.  
  
She stared. Then she leaped for the TV. "IILPALLAZO-SAMA!"  
  
THUD.  
  
Long silence.  
  
Then, there was a long "Squeeeeaaaak" as Excel slid from the TV to the ground.  
  
She blinked, rubbing a huge new sore on her head. Then she looked at the TV again. "WAI! IIL-"  
  
THUD.  
  
Sliiiiiide.  
  
"IILPALLA-"  
  
THUD.  
  
Sliiiiiiide.  
  
Excel moaned as she pulled herself away from the TV for the third time. Then she blinked and looked at the TV.  
  
"What the-?!"  
  
Another Excel stood on the screen now, latched onto Iilpallazo-sama's arm. HER Iilpallazo-sama's arm. And that Excel was looking happier than anything.  
  
Excel glared at the screen, a murderous streak growing within her. "Why that, how dare she touch my Iilpallazo-sama in such an inappropriate manner? Only I, Excel, Excel, can do that! For he is MY Iilpallazo-sama, no matter WHICH Iilpallazo-sama he is!"   
  
With that, she grabbed a nearby lamp and went for the TV.  
  
"IIL-"  
  
THUD.  
  
Sliiiiiide.  
  
"Itai..."  
  
~*~  
  
Washu was going insane.  
  
No, not from Steve being gone. He was only a couple blocks away at the moment, a distance any normal Bishie could stand.   
  
What she COULDN'T stand were the Bishonen she was charged with watching.  
  
She'd found Heero running repeatedly into a wall, repeating that Anya was through that wall and he had to get to her.  
  
Washu had tried to be patient. She really had. But when he'd kept running into the wall, insisting that no, he could not POSSIBLY go any other way but through the wall to get to Anya, she had quickly lost all semblance of patience.   
  
So when Thatz had suggested he use his Earth Dragon to blow the wall to smithereens, she had grabbed a frying pan and smacked him with it. She wasn't sure where the frying pan had come from, but she was glad it had decided to show up at that time.  
  
So now she had two unconscious Bishonen, and one that was soon to be unconscious. She had tried grabbing him by the arm and dragging him away, but Heero had grabbed his gun and promised that if she touched him he'd shoot her head off. And since he was certain he was protecting his trainer, she knew he'd be able to go through with that promise.  
  
The genius was getting ready to hit HIM with a frying pan when a hand touched her shoulder. "Allow me," said a cool voice.  
  
Washu jumped and looked up, eyes wide and hands clenching around the frying pan. However, soon she dropped the pan when she saw the speaker. "Y-you!" she stammered.  
  
The Bishoujo she was staring at smirked and opened her arms, as though ready to announce something important. "Why, yes, it's me." Then her eyes narrowed. "Now if you don't mind-" she proceeded to shoo Washu away from Heero and walk over to the three Bishonen.  
  
"Megumi," Washu whispered, nodding.  
  
Said Bishoujo flipped her long, dark hair back over her shoulder as she inspected the three. "I thought they were acting a little too oddly to be merely drunk or ill," she said. "The madness of a faraway trainer... what a cruel fate." She continued to watch Heero.  
  
"With all due respect, Megumi," Washu said. "I know you're the best Bishoujo healer, not to mention the rarest, but what are you doing coming out into the open? If a trainer sees you they'll catch you!"  
  
Megumi shook her head. "Tending to a patient in need is far more important than that. If I am captured, so be it." Now she turned to smirk at Washu. "As long as I am not captured by your trainer."  
  
"What, why not?!" Washu asked, blinking.  
  
"Why, because he wants to capture me, of course." Megumi put her hand up to her mouth and let loose a loud laugh that, while not as awful as that of Naga, was bad enough to make Washu cover her ears for a moment.  
  
"Uh... I don't get your point, but fine," Washu said,lowering her hands cautiously. "Just... why are you going to tend to them, when there's no cure but getting the trainer and Bishies back together?"  
  
"Trade secret. Gomen." With that, Megumi held out a hand imperiously to Washu. "The pan, please?"  
  
"Sure..." Washu handed her the pan.  
  
"Arigato." Megumi turned to hit Heero on the back of the head. The Bishonen slumped to the ground without a word.  
  
"WHAT!? What are you doing, you idiot! He's suffered enough-" Washu stopped when an index finger was pressed against her lips.  
  
"Shh. No harm is done if they sleep. Less pain this way. Now, if you'll excuse me." Megumi turned to unroll a number of sleeping mats. Then she began to push Sanosuke onto one of them.  
  
Shaking her head, Washu decided to help her out.  
  
After a short while, all three Bishonen lay sleeping on mats. The two Bishoujo stood back to observe their prowess; Heero and Thatz seemed to be peaceful at the moment. However, Sano was twitching and muttering.  
  
"This trainer of theirs is either very far away or very close to them," Megumi observed.  
  
"Both," Washu said.  
  
"Hmm." Megumi pulled out a bowl and grinder, then got a patch of leaves resembling those on oak trees into the bowl. She began to grind the leaves into a pale, thin paste.  
  
"What's that?" Washu peered over Megumi's shoulder.  
  
The Meiji Era Bishoujo smirked. "I said it's a trade secret. Now, if you were dear Ken-sama, then I may consider telling it to you... Ohohohohoho!"   
  
Washu winced. "How glad am I to be a Bishoujo..."  
  
"Anyway, this should ease their suffering for a short period. They will sleep, and they will fight the madness with this."  
  
"Great! Hopefully Steve'll get back here soon with Skuld, then we'll fix this whole thing. Damn, that trainer's gonna owe me a heck of a lot, me spending all this time helping the sick an' all. I ain't no doctor!" Washu said, smiling.  
  
"I noticed," Megumi said dryly. "Though I did notice you know how to use a doctor's greatest tool quite proficiently."  
  
Washu blinked. "Eh? My laptop?"  
  
"Not that hunk of metal! The pan! How do you think doctors calm their patients?" Megumi began to laugh again.  
  
Washu sighed and began to look for ear muffs. /I really hope Steve comes back. Preferably in one piece.../  
  
~*~  
  
Kaoru looked up from her meditation to see a Kenshin making his way through the trees. She blinked in confusion; she hadn't been expecting anyone to show up that day. Then her eyes narrowed, and her hand went to her wooden sword which lay to one side. /A troublemaker? He looks drunk.../  
  
Indeed, the figure was weaving around, just barely missing the trees. His eyes, once she could get a glimpse of them, were yellow, which raised the feeling that something was wrong with this picture.  
  
Then Kaoru gasped. /That's not just any Kenshin, that's-/ "Ken-chan!" she cried gleefully, bounding off of the porch towards her son. "Ken-chan, I've been so worried since your father said you were captured..."  
  
She went up to hug, then scold her son. But she had to pause just a couple feet away from him to make sure he WAS her son.   
  
"Kaoru-dono?" her husband asked, peeking out the door. He was clad in his apron, and was holding onto a fish. "What is it?"  
  
"Ken-chan's home!" she said. She turned to smile at her husband. "And look, he's so much bigger! I'm so proud! But you, mister-" she whirled around to scold her son now. "Coming home drunk, what's this about-"  
  
She stopped when she finally got a good look at her son, who now looked like he was about to be very sick.   
  
"Kaoru-dono?" The apron and fish disappeared instantly as Kaoru's husband hurried to her side, touching her arms gently. "What is it?"  
  
"He's... he's not... something's wrong," Kaoru whispered, clutching back at her husband uncertainly. "His eyes, Kenshin. They're wrong. Even you don't look like that in Battousai mode..."  
  
Suddenly, Ken-chan gave a groan that sounded like, "Mother..." before he dropped to one side. And didn't get up.  
  
Kaoru screamed.  
  
~*~ 


	40. Chapter Forty!

Chapter Forty- Saviors... or Goners?  
  
Notes- (Reads all the recent reviews) O.o Okay. I suppose I ought to write the next part before you all decide to kill me instead of Kara...   
  
WARNING- Many changes of P.O.V.'s. Live with it.   
  
~*~  
  
Bryanna landed at the entrance to the gym, now turned into a stadium, with a relieved sigh. "FINALLY. I thought we'd never get over that desert!"  
  
"Now if my DEAR trainer wouldn't mind, I have food to find and a few commoners to destroy."  
  
The trainer waved her arm. "Knock yourself out. Just remember I am NOT paying for your crap, and I will NOT take responsibility."  
  
Yami Bakura looked up at that, and smiled. "May I use my flame-thrower now?!" he asked sweetly.  
  
"Just as long as it's on other Bishies and not humans or buildings."   
  
Bryanna paused before entering to turn and look back at another member of the group. "What, don't you want to wreak havoc, too?"  
  
This member was a new addition to the trainer's group, a sandy-haired, tanned young man with wide dark eyes. He wore robes that reminded one of Egyptian clothing, and clutched a golden rod that had an eye engraved on the top of it.  
  
He merely gave her a smile. "Why, and miss out on the fun within? Ruby rain and an ocean's worth of salty tears lie within those doors, my trainer. Why would I want to miss something as blatant, as painful as my fellows descending into madness?"  
  
Bryanna frowned. "You're saying you sense madness in there?"  
  
The Yami Malik paused, and made as if to sniff the air before smirking and running his tongue over his lips. "Why yes, of many sorts. The madness of a mob, cheering for blood. The madness of an individual, crying for his trainer. The madness of a girl, needing assistance, anyone's assistance. The madness of friends, worrying over what could possibly have happened to one of their own."  
  
The trainer's eyes widened. "Holy #^#!, I was right to want to come back here then! We'd better get moving. Lina! Yami Malik, you come with me now!"  
  
"What about me?" Yami Yugi asked quietly.  
  
Bryanna waved her arm. "I don't care. Go kick someone's ass at a duel or something."  
  
He fell over. "Don't you even WANT my help?" he asked.  
  
She grinned. "I was just kidding, Yami. You WERE my first Yami, after all, and I wouldn't leave you behind."  
  
"How reassuring," he mumbled.  
  
She turned back to the doors, and pushed one open. "Yosh! Let's check out this 'madness' that Yami Malik senses!"  
  
"Right!"   
  
~*~  
  
Miya-chan and Jessica raced down the street excitedly towards the local town's gym, which they'd heard had recently transformed itself into a stadium for a local tournament.   
  
"Come on, Miya-chan!" Jessica urged. "Let's get going! We get to watch the ends of the semis and then the finals today!"  
  
"I know! It's been so long since I was at a tournament!" Miya-chan gasped, trying to keep up with the other girl.   
  
The two turned a corner, then paused for a moment to stare happily at the building where they'd soon get to see some matches.   
  
"You know, if you hadn't slept in, we coulda seen the beginning of the semis, too," Jessica joked.  
  
"Oh, please. Like you didn't sleep in too!"  
  
"Piccolo was being mean and I couldn't sleep last night," Jessica said, pouting.  
  
Miya-chan sweat-dropped. "Um... J? TMI. Just... T-M-I."  
  
Jessica frowned. "That's not what I meant!" she protested.  
  
"Uh-huh- hey!"  
  
"Hey what?"  
  
"Isn't that Bryanna over there?"  
  
Jessica turned around to see that, indeed, the girl who'd saved them from the labs was hurrying into the tournament, with a flame-thrower-armed Bakura and a crazed looking blonde Bishonen neither of them recognized at her side.  
  
"Yeah, it is! I wonder what she's doing back here, of all places?"  
  
"Who knows? If we hurry, we can catch up!"  
  
"I'm all for that!"   
  
~*~  
  
Anya winced and cradled her right hand in her left gingerly, trying to staunch the bleeding from the large cut that had appeared. "Okay, maybe trying to smash a large TV screen with my bare hands was not such a good idea. Now that I think about it, that was really stupid. What if I'd friggin' electrocuted myself?!" she demanded.  
  
Her surroundings didn't answer.  
  
She let out a little sigh. Then she looked around herself. "Well, at least I don't have to watch those horrid scenes of my Bishies anymore. Now let's see if I can find a large shard here..."  
  
Of course, she hadn't broken all of the glass screen off the monitor; only about half of it lay in shards on the ground before her.   
  
Since her hands were really sore from beating up the huge screen (her knuckles and the cut were bleeding, and the rest of her arms were sore), she was very careful when picking up shards to inspect them.  
  
For a while, she thought that her "plan" wasn't going to work after all, and that all she'd accomplished was injuring herself.  
  
Then she found it.  
  
"Ha!" she whispered, kneeling by the piece. "Please, whoever's watching over me, please don't let this break into two pieces..."   
  
She paused, then turned to her shirt. She hesitated again, then gave a mental shrug before ripping off a piece to wrap around her better hand, wincing at the effort it took. Only then did she pick up the piece.  
  
"Yatta!" she said, this time a little louder. "This thing's at least two feet long! It'll definitely help me out! Now I can try my idea out!"  
  
~*~  
  
"Hiei, we have a problem!" Kara said.  
  
The Bishonen immediately appeared. "I know, the girl's-"  
  
"No, not Anya. Nor the other trainers. It's not them." She glanced down the hallway nervously, as though worried that someone was lurking in them. "It's the police."  
  
"What about them?" he asked, bored.  
  
"Haven't you noticed? They're crawling all over this mountain! We ought to get outta here before anything severe happens!"  
  
"Kara, don't worry. They can't find us."  
  
"Oh really? Then why are they only a mile off from our cave entrance?" Kara asked, frowning.  
  
Hiei paused. "That isn't good," he agreed. "But I say we hold down the fort anyway. This place IS well hidden, after all. It'd take a ki-sensing Bishonen to find us, and those are generally ones that like warmer climates."  
  
"True..." Kara considered this.  
  
"Besides, if they get in and through, we can always run then. The teleporting machine is fully functional as usual, and Logan's overlooking the trainers and Bishies that are in captivity. We can escape, and we can always start up again later."  
  
Kara frowned again. "I still don't like this, Hiei. I know this was my idea, but... to think that they'd find it so easily..."  
  
"It's taken, what, three years or so? So it wasn't easy for them!"  
  
"What about my data, then?"  
  
Hiei snorted. "It's on a laptop, dummy. Fail that, you have your floppies. Remember?"  
  
Now Kara felt stupid. "Oh, yeah. Sorry for acting stupid, Hiei, but I get nervous when police get involved, especially when they're so close to finding us."  
  
"Don't worry. I'll protect you if need be."  
  
"Thanks, Hiei." Kara smiled. "You're the best, did you know that?"  
  
"Of course I did." He smirked. "It's just nice to hear it once in a while."  
  
~*~  
  
Kaoru stared at Ken-chan, eyes wide in fear.   
  
"Kenshin! He's... he's..."  
  
"I know," her husband replied grimly. He stared at his son, who had only a moment ago keeled over.  
  
"Is he...?"  
  
Kenshin gently pulled away from his wife to kneel down by his son. He checked for a pulse, though he also tried not to touch the Bishonen more than he had to. After a moment, he shook his head. "No. He's still alive."  
  
"What sort of trainer dumps my son like this and leaves him to go mad?!" Kaoru demanded, her temper rising. "What did my boy ever do to those horrible humans?"  
  
"I... don't know. That girl... she seemed like such a nice type. And Sanosuke trusted her." Kenshin's eyes clouded over with worry. Then he blinked and looked back down at his son. "We need to get him inside, and fetch a healer quickly."  
  
Kaoru nodded, turning away. "I'll get Megumi, if I can find her!" she promised, and raced off.  
  
Kenshin watched her go, then glanced down at his son. Ken-chan's breathing was shallow, but there. He ran a hand through his son's hair, sighing softly.  
  
"My son... why has this thing happened to you?"  
  
~*~  
  
Bryanna hurried down the hallways, with her Yami Malik, Yami Yugi, and Lina in tow. Yami Malik's creepy smile was growing by the moment, while Yami looked troubled and Lina merely looked out of breath.   
  
She skidded to a halt before a fork in the hallways, and looked around helplessly, having no clue as to which way to go. She could go up some stairs directly in front of her, or go to her left or right.  
  
"Darn it, now which way?" she mumbled.  
  
Her Yamis merely looked around, and Lina shrugged.  
  
Then, Bryanna turned her head to the left. "Hey! I hear some people talking and- hey! Someone's beating someone else up! Let's go!"  
  
"Right," came three voices. With that, they all made their way towards the left hallway.  
  
The trainer and her three Bishies ran down the hallway for a while, and the voices became steadily louder (though no one heard any more banging noises).   
  
Suddenly, Bryanna had to skid to a stop again. Yami ran into her, Lina into him, and Yami Malik into her. Therefore, they all ended up in a large pile in the middle of the floor, groaning and muttering curses as they fought to untangle themselves.  
  
~*~  
  
Megumi and Washu looked up from their care of the three ill Bishonen and blinked at the sight of the tangled mess of trainer and Bishies. Megumi looked around, as though considering her options; she could even now run and hide, but these Bishonen... they still needed healing.  
  
Especially the Sanosuke...  
  
Froth was forming at the tip of his mouth, and he was muttering and gasping for air much more often than he had been earlier. While her medicine seemed to help the other two (who lay still and slept soundly), it had little to no effect on Sanosuke.  
  
Megumi's expression softened slightly as she ran a gentle, practiced hand through his hair for a moment.  
  
Sano seemed to quiet, mumbling, "Anya?"  
  
She blinked, and moved back her hand. "Anya," she repeated thoughtfully. /Must be his trainer's name.../  
  
The Bishoujo then sighed when she realized that the trainer and her Bishies had righted themselves and were now busy staring at her, as well as at her fellow Bishoujo and the Bishonen they were tending.  
  
"Did I not tell you?" one of this new trainer's Bishonen said softly. "Ruby rain and salted tears fall this day."  
  
"This is the madness you sensed?" the trainer asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
The trainer frowned. Then she looked at the two Bishoujo. "I'm Bryanna, just recently showed up here. Where are your trainers?" she asked.  
  
Megumi and Washu looked at each other for a moment. Then Washu nodded and said, "Our trainer isn't present. Neither's the trainer of these Bishonen."  
  
"Oh... wait, that's a Sano! And a Heero... Is the trainer of these three Anya?" Bryanna demanded.  
  
Washu turned to look at the trainer, her expression unreadable. "How do you know of her?"  
  
~*~  
  
"Bryanna! Bryanna! Wait up!" Miya-chan called.  
  
The two hurried down the hallways, trying to find their ally. However, it seemed that already the other trainer had disappeared from hearing and sight; they couldn't figure out where on earth she could have gone.   
  
The two were getting ready to call it quits and go see the tournament when something caught Jessica's eye.  
  
"Hey!" she said, stopping.  
  
"OW!" Miya-chan slammed into a nearby wall, the thudding sound echoing throughout the hallways. Then she slowly fell to the ground. "That hurt..."  
  
Jessica helped her friend stand, then turned to point at something. "Look!"  
  
"Huh?"   
  
The two trainers saw Bryanna, standing with three of her Bishonen. Bryanna was staring at two Bishoujo and three unconscious Bishonen. Bishonen that looked very familiar...  
  
"Hey! Those are Anya's Bishies!" Jessica said, eyes widening in realization.  
  
"Yeah!" Miya-chan said. "I'd remember that Sano anywhere! Even asleep, he's got that jaunty look on his face."  
  
Jessica frowned. "I don't think he's... asleep, Miya-chan..."  
  
The other trainer took another look, then gasped and nodded. "I... you're right. He's... he's frothing at the mouth, isn't he? Oh, God... he's going mad!"  
  
"Let's go over and see what's going on!"  
  
"Right!"  
  
~*~  
  
Anya stood at the very edge of the barrier's beginning, just before she felt any pressure or pain. She held the long, thin shard of glass in her wrapped hand, trying her best to ignore the pain in her hands and the ever-bleeding wound in her arm.   
  
She took a deep breath. For the past few minutes, she had been doing her best to try and focus only on the Bish-balls on the table. All she had to do was knock them close enough to get to them. Then...  
  
"Okay," she whispered. "Let's try."  
  
She took a step. A faint buzzing began in her ears. Another three steps. Pressure began to push at her in all directions, though it was still faint. Anya kept her eyes on the Bish-balls, trying to ignore the slight discomforts, for she knew from past experience it was going to get much, much worse.  
  
Two more steps, and she felt a sharp pain in her wounded arm. She gasped, but kept on taking slow steps. It was getting harder to breathe.  
  
/One, two, three, step... one, two, three, step... Oh GOD! /  
  
She yelped when another pain, more insistent, shot up through the hand holding the glass, and nearly dropped it as a result. "OW!" She took two more steps, and nearly fell over as the pains shot through both arms. Her nerves weakened, and she fumbled with the glass, cutting her unprotected hand.  
  
/Damn it! I need to keep going! /  
  
The table was five feet away. She had to get there. She had to!  
  
Another step...  
  
"AIIIYEEEE!"  
  
She shrieked as she felt something slam into both her back and into her stomach at the same time. Something else smacked her in the head, while needles pricked at her bare arms. Her cuts made her scream again, for they were twice as painful as her unharmed parts.  
  
The trainer couldn't help it; she fell over onto one side, clutching the glass shard and gasping. She tried to catch her breath, tried to figure out what she was doing wrong.  
  
/I need help... oh, gods, someone help me! / she thought.  
  
Then, /No one's going to help me here. Someone I thought was a friend is a sicko. My Bishies are miles, maybe leagues, away from here, / she thought bitterly.   
  
Was it her, or was the world spinning? Fascinated, she stared up at the domed ceiling.  
  
Her eyes were getting heavy...  
  
A sudden image came to mind; well, three combined into one. As Anya let her eyes close, just for a minute, she saw Chichiri freezing to death, alone and unable to protect himself. She saw Kenshin dying in that oh-so-familiar place, not able to prevent his death and not able to understand why it was happening. She saw Heero and Thatz, slowly sinking into madness.   
  
And she saw Sanosuke.  
  
/My first Bishie. My best friend, really, / she thought. /Dying. Because of me. /  
  
"Ahaha... Anya? That you?" she had heard him mutter on screen. "Where'ya... dark an' cold... nyaa..."  
  
Her eyes shot open. /They'll all be dying because of me. Damn it, just because I hate dramatic heroines doesn't mean I can't be one! I have to be! I gotta help my Bishies. If nothing else... I gotta get outta this pain-filled hell before I kill myself... owwww.../  
  
She forced herself onto her knees, despite her muscles screaming in protest. She tried to stand, but her feet just couldn't take her. It felt like nails were digging into her soles, and as though her legs were being rubbed with sandpaper.  
  
The trainer tried to regulate her breathing. /If I never believed in Zen meditation before, I should now! Please, someone help me focus! /  
  
She closed her eyes, resting a second on those knees (which felt like they were being charbroiled at the moment). Then, with a scream, she lunged forward, towards the table.  
  
Time slowed.  
  
The glass shard hit a table leg. The leg collapsed. Glass shattered, hit her all over her hands and arms, some on her legs. Her heart seemed to stop for a moment.   
  
Time froze, then began again.  
  
The table began to tip forward, and Anya watched as the Bish-balls and Dex hit the ground beside her.  
  
But her heart was stopped. She couldn't breathe. She wasn't able to think more than, /It HURTS! IT HURTS! /  
  
She closed her eyes. /This is it. I'm gonna die! GOD IT HURTS! /  
  
/Oh, God, does it hurt.../  
  
She felt dizzy, as though she was drunk. The glass sticking into her didn't seem to hurt as much anymore. Her blood felt warm, though for a moment she wondered why it was outside of her. Wasn't it supposed to warm her from inside?  
  
Darkness was coming.  
  
Then...  
  
.........  
  
/.../ Anya gasped, suddenly feeling the air return to her lungs. The prickling, the burning, the muscles screaming in protest, all those pains disappeared. All she felt now was the sting of the pieces of glass embedded in her skin, and the wound in her arm.   
  
/I'm... alive?! HOW?!/  
  
She slowly opened her eyes, looking around herself. Then, just as cautiously, she sat up and poked at one leg. Then the other.  
  
/I'm... almost okay... other than the glass.. Oowwiieee.../ She winced at the pain in her forearms. /I need to get to a doctor.../  
  
/But how did I stop the pain? Why doesn't it hurt anymore? I didn't move anywhere.../  
  
Anya's eyes fell on the Bish-balls.  
  
"Ask questions later," she gasped, and grabbed for the first one in reach. She looked at it fondly for a moment, recognizing somehow who belonged with this Bish-ball.  
  
"Kenshin... my second Bishonen, and the most kawaii Chibi I've ever seen..."  
  
She sighed, and closed her eyes. Her hands clamped over the ball.   
  
"Good-bye, Kenshin."  
  
~*~  
  
Kenshin's eyes widened in surprise as his son suddenly opened his eyes, moaning.  
  
"...Ken-chan?" he questioned softly.  
  
The younger Bishonen blinked in the sunlight, then turned to look at his father. "...Father?"  
  
"You're all right!" Kenshin smiled and pulled his son up in a hug.   
  
"Uh... ano, father... what am I doing here? I don't remember a thing..."  
  
Kenshin pulled back to regard his son seriously. "You were mad a moment ago. Upon the verge of death."  
  
"What? But..." Ken-chan's eyes clouded over as he recalled the past few hours. "Anya..."  
  
"Your trainer?"  
  
The younger Bishonen stared at the sky for a few minutes as clarity returned to his world. Then, he shook his head slowly, sadly.  
  
"My former trainer, father... My former trainer. I don't feel her any more..."  
  
~*~  
  
Anya dropped her Kenshin's Bish-ball, and grabbed the next one. "Next..." She closed her hands over this one.  
  
"Good-bye... Chichiri."  
  
~*~  
  
Chichiri was certain he was about to die.  
  
His ability to cast spells had decreased greatly as time had passed on, both from the energy drained from dragging himself through the snow and from casting so many heat spells. Even his rosary about his neck didn't give him enough power to cast anything else.  
  
And the madness had finally come a while ago. Oddly enough, he could actually feel it clutching him. Hadn't he heard that madmen didn't know they were mad?  
  
/I suppose it was all denial, / was his last coherent thought.  
  
After a while, he'd stumbled in the snow and had been unable to stand back up. His breathing got shallow, and hypothermia began to set in.  
  
So he closed his eyes, sending a silent apology to everyone he'd been with for the past few months. His trainer, his fellow Bishonen, his trainer's friends and their Bishies...  
  
/Fading.../  
  
Then, a miracle occurred.  
  
His Seishi symbol, a sign resembling an unmarked tic-tac-toe game on his right knee, began to glow and warm him as Suzaku decided to watch over his chosen.  
  
Then, he felt clarity return to him as quickly as one could snap a rubber band.  
  
He jerked up into a sitting position as warmth slowly came to his numb limbs and face. After a few minutes, he was shivering, a good sign that his immunity system was getting back online.  
  
The blue-haired Bishonen stared at his surroundings blankly for a while as coherency slowly returned after his understanding and sanity.  
  
After a moment, he lowered his head.   
  
"Anya. You didn't."  
  
The wind howled as a response.  
  
~*~  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, we're looking for the next contestants Anya and Steve, but they are nowhere to be found. If any of you are friends of theirs, please look around for them. We will continue through the next match if they do not come."  
  
The crowd mumbled at that. Some people were angry, impatient, while some didn't seem to care.  
  
Others, however, were VERY worried.  
  
"That's it," Jacky said. She stood. "I'm going to look for Anya. It couldn't take this long to look for Abby!"  
  
"If she's been gone this long, it's likely she was kidnapped," Inuyasha said matter-of-factly. "A thing that I shall not allow to happen to you. Sit down."  
  
"YOU sit, you heartless jerk!" Jacky snapped.   
  
Inuyasha face-faulted into the person sitting in front of him in the stands. When he raised his head, he had a huge red mark across it. "Woman-!"  
  
"I'm going." Jacky ran over to where Kimiko sat with MorTae. "Guys!"  
  
Kimiko looked up. "Hey." She was frowning. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"  
  
"That maybe we were wrong about Anya just chasing after Abby and saving poor Bishonen?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Yep. I'm looking for her."  
  
"I will, too." Kimiko glanced at MorTae. "Sorry, we'll have to talk later. I need to find a friend!" She jumped to her feet, and nodded at Jacky.  
  
Jacky nodded back, and the two hurried towards the inside hallways of the gym-turned stadium.  
  
Inuyasha growled as he got to his feet. His sword began to glow. "I am NOT letting that idiot go off by herself!" he declared, and thus raced after her.  
  
Shippou, realizing he was going to be left behind, hurried after.  
  
Thus, the group left poor Miroku entirely alone, tied to his chair. He was thirsty, hungry, and in desperate need of a bathroom.  
  
This was not going to end well.  
  
~*~  
  
"What?! But this... that's mad!" Bryanna declared.  
  
Washu had recently finished giving her explanation of what was going on.  
  
"Well, of course it is. Look at THEM!" Washu said, gesturing towards the three Bishonen. "What do you THINK?"  
  
"Can't you teleport them? Or teleport Anya?" Jessica asked. "I heard Washus can-"  
  
"Only my cousins. There are multiple types of Washus out there. I may be the best at tracking people down and tracking data, but I cannot teleport someone to save my life," Washu said.  
  
"Oh."  
  
The group was quiet for a while. Bryanna's Yami Malik was humming an eerie tune as he watched the three Bishonen before him suffer. Yami Yugi watched sadly, crossing his arms and trying to think of a solution. Lina frowned, wishing her trainer had a Filia or a Xellos.  
  
Then, Jessica smacked herself on the head. "My God! I am such an idiot!" she declared.  
  
"What? Why?" Bryanna asked.  
  
"My Shin can teleport! He can instantly transport anywhere he wants!" Jessica said. "And he can take people with him! I can use him!"  
  
"Great idea!" Miya-chan said. "Why didn't I think of that?"  
  
"It's worth a shot, since my trainer doesn't seem intent on appearing anytime soon," Washu agreed.  
  
"Shin, come out!"  
  
The Bishonen soon appeared, looking determined.  
  
"Did you hear us, Shin?" Jessica asked.  
  
"Yes. I merely wish I knew how to escape a Bish-ball of my own accord. I could have saved us time," he replied.  
  
"Sorry I forgot," Jessica said sheepishly. "I guess I'm just-"  
  
"I know." Shin turned to kneel between Heero and Sanosuke, looking at the three Bishonen and shaking his head. "Place Thatz within my reach, or I will not be able to take him with me." He glanced at Washu. "Please show me the location of their trainer. It will shorten our travel."  
  
Washu nodded, and quickly gave instructions as Thatz was hastily dragged near to the others by Jessica and Miya-chan...  
  
~*~  
  
Anya reached for the third ball, and bit her lip. "Good-bye, Thatz. It was cool having you..."  
  
~*~  
  
Snap!  
  
Just as Shin was about to teleport, Thatz shocked everyone by jumping to his feet, looking very surprised indeed.  
  
"Hey! What's going on? Where am I? Hey! Sano! Heero! ...Where's..." Thatz looked around himself as a question mark appeared over his head. "What's going on?" he whined.  
  
Washu and Megumi stared in amazement at his sudden recovery. "So quick!" Megumi murmured.  
  
Washu frowned. "Anya must be releasing everyone!" she said.  
  
"Then Shin, you hurry up!" Jessica ordered. "Only take me, Heero and Sano!"  
  
Shin nodded, grabbed all named, and disappeared.  
  
~*~  
  
Just as Shin disappeared, Jacky rounded the corner with Kimiko and Inuyasha in tow. The three stopped when they saw the group of Bishies and trainers standing about, staring at two empty bedrolls on the ground.  
  
"What on...?" Jacky wondered.  
  
One of the trainers turned around, and her eyes widened. "You're Jacky, aren't you?" she asked.  
  
"...Miya-chan? And... Bryanna?"  
  
Both nodded.  
  
"W... What're you three doing here?!"  
  
~*~  
  
"HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE HERE AGAIN!"  
  
Steve ducked a flying telephone, and it crashed into a nearby wall. The poor machine broke into many tiny parts and crumpled onto the floor, a mere pile of pieces instead of the phone it once was. Soon, a television, and then a vase of flowers followed the same fate.  
  
A lamp was much luckier. It hit Steve in the face and, having a much softer landing than the other objects, it landed on the ground with a small thud (while Steve made a much louder thud as his head hit the floor).  
  
"OW! Skuld! Will you please calm down...? Didn't I say it was an accident?" he tried to reason. "You know I'd-"  
  
"Oh, so now I'm too ugly to look at when I'm naked? WELL, MISTER, WHY DON'T YOU SAY HELLO TO MY HAMMER!"  
  
"AAAAAAAAH! SKUUUULD, STOP IT!"  
  
~*~  
  
Paul walked into his hotel room, blinked, and considered walking out before he got harmed in any bizarre way.  
  
However, if he did he'd miss the show.  
  
Excel was constantly throwing herself at the television screen, holding a former lamp in one hand and screeching something about "Iilpallazo-sama" at the top of her lungs.   
  
Raistlin peered around Paul's shoulder. "I suggest we leave and act like she isn't our traveling companion," the mage suggested in a hiss.  
  
Paul slowly nodded. "I have to agree with you on that one."  
  
The two backed out of the room, careful not to attract Excel's attention, and closed the door. Then they crept down the hallway, back to the room that Excel had trashed a few hours ago.  
  
"You know, this room really isn't that bad, once you get over the fact that the TV's hanging out the window," Paul observed.  
  
Raistlin merely sat down on one bed, pulled out his magic book, and began to study, trying to ignore the screeching coming from Excel about how "IILPALLAZO-SAMA IS MINE, YOU TWO CENT @#)(%*&#!"  
  
While he didn't have a magical book to pore over, Paul decided to follow Raistlin's example and pretend that, for the moment, that Excel was not his.  
  
~*~  
  
"Abby-san?" Caramon asked cautiously.  
  
Having not been mentioned for quite a while, the trainer had gone on a rampage, utterly glomping the life out of any and every Bishonen that had crossed her path. She'd even glomped a few female Bishies by accident, thinking they were merely guys with girlish features.   
  
Now, she stood panting in the midst of a number of recently-glomped Bishonen. Some weren't able to move at all. Some managed to twitch and make odd moaning noises.  
  
Abby turned to Caramon, her glomping crave temporarily satisfied. "Yes, Caramon?"  
  
"Where ARE we?"  
  
Abby frowned. "What do you mean, where are we? We're-"  
  
She stopped and looked around herself, suddenly realizing she wasn't in town any more. No, she wasn't in any town at the moment; she and Caramon stood together in a clearing in a forest.  
  
"Huh." She ^^;ed. "Imagine that! So THAT'S why no one's come after me for the past few hours. Nifty!"  
  
Caramon sweat-dropped. "Um, can we go back to town before I start getting sick from not being near my trainer?"  
  
Abby latched onto his arm, dragging him away from the clearing. "Of course, of course! Can't have that!" she babbled. Then she paused. "Um, which way do we go?"  
  
"I think we should follow the trail of glomped Bishies."  
  
"You know, you're smarter than Raistlin thinks," Abby said, and proceeded to drag him back to town.  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
Then, "Uh, thank you?"  
  
~*~  
  
"Attention, attention. This is the police of Raine Town. I repeat, this is the police. Any and all who are occupying this cave are ordered to come out with their hands up and ready for questioning. I repeat, come out with your hands up and prepare for questioning. Otherwise, we shall break in."  
  
"DAMN it!" Kara slammed her hand on the keyboard. "Hiei, time to get outta here!"  
  
"Don't I know it. Want to do anything last minute with the halflings we have around here?" Hiei asked.  
  
"No! Let's get outta here!" Kara grabbed her laptop and her floppy disks.  
  
"What about that Anya? She's freeing-"  
  
"Who cares! Ready that teleporting device!"  
  
"Right!"  
  
The two approached the teleporting device, prepared to go for the farthest city possible to get a fresh start in.  
  
Then, Hiei felt himself get kicked in the face. He then found himself slamming into the nearest wall.  
  
Kara stopped running to stare at her one, most loyal Bishonen. "Hiei! What?!"  
  
She turned to see three Bishonen and a trainer, who was glaring at her. One Bishonen, a Shin that she remembered, lowered his raised foot and smirked.  
  
"Hello, my former hostess. How's it been?"  
  
"Former... you're that girl I captured only a couple weeks ago!" Kara said.  
  
Jessica tossed her hair as she took her place beside Shin. "What a shock, eh? Funny how the past comes to haunt you."  
  
"Hmph. Get out of our way," Hiei said, stepping in front of his trainer. "Or you shall feel the consequences."  
  
"Shall I truly?" Shin asked.  
  
Behind Shin, Sano and Heero were slowly returning to consciousness (not to mention their sanity). Heero came to first, moaning softly and raising a hand gingerly to his face.   
  
"What...?" he asked.  
  
Sano came next, eyes opening as he wiped at his mouth and looked around. His eyes shot wide open at what he saw.  
  
"The @$^$#@-"  
  
"Well, if it's not our friend Sanosuke," Hiei said.   
  
Sano turned towards the other Bishonen, frowning. Then he blinked. "You. You're that @#%-hole that beat me up a while back."  
  
"Me. And yes, I shall gladly do it again. Yet I believe you need an appointment, for I already have a battle scheduled-"  
  
Hiei didn't get to finish that sentence.  
  
Shin had quickly gotten annoyed with Hiei's offhand attitude, and had decided to remedy it with another quick kick to the gut. Hiei slammed right back into the wall, unable to breathe.  
  
The god Bishonen didn't give him a chance to, either. Shin sped forward with a punch ready for Hiei's face. Soon Hiei was in another room entirely. Two seconds later, he was being tossed through another wall into a third room.  
  
"HIEI!" Kara called, running towards him. Then she stopped as a gun pointed itself at her face.  
  
"I suggest you remain still," Heero said coolly.   
  
"Where's Anya?" Sanosuke demanded.  
  
"Anya?" Kara blinked. "Who's that?"  
  
Heero pushed the tip of the gun against the bridge of Kara's nose. "You have three seconds."  
  
"But I don't-"  
  
"One."  
  
Kara gave a small, hysterical sounding laugh. "You're crazy, aren't you? Poor things gone mad-"  
  
Heero didn't waver. "Two."  
  
"All right, all right!" Kara held up her hands. "I give! Don't shoot!"  
  
"Where?" Sano snarled.  
  
~*~  
  
Anya reached towards the next Bish-ball, hand shaking. Two Bishies left... But she had to do this.  
  
"Good-bye... Heero."  
  
~*~  
  
Snap!  
  
Heero blinked, and his eyes widened.  
  
"SANO! Hurry! She's releasing us!" Heero said.  
  
Said Bishonen nodded. He had just gotten the information he needed from Kara, and was already running at top speed through the hallways, looking for the door the girl had described.  
  
"Don't you dare disappear on me," he growled, punching open a door to peer in. Then he moved to the next one. "Damn it! It's gotta be here somewhere!"  
  
~*~  
  
Anya paused, listening for a moment to the sound of someone banging open doors nearby. She couldn't tell where, of course; the room she was in didn't seem to have windows or doors.   
  
Her ears pricked when she heard shouting, and a number of other banging noises above her.   
  
/Is that the police? / she wondered. /Are they really coming? I thought I heard someone on a PA earlier... I'm saved! /  
  
She was ready to dance for joy. After all, she was on her last ball, and if she had broken it, she wouldn't have been able to return to this world again.  
  
But then, she sobered when she realized, /It doesn't matter who that is. Even if it is the police, they could never fly me back to the city in time to save my Bishies. Any of them. I don't even know where they were! /  
  
She sighed, looking at the ball in her hands. /Sano... it's been fun. But it's time. /  
  
~*~  
  
Sano destroyed another door, looking through it hurriedly and finding nothing. "DAMN!" he swore.   
  
Gasping for breath, he came to the next door. "Oh please, Kami-sama," he prayed. He readied a punch...  
  
~*~  
  
"Good-bye... Sa-"  
  
BOOM!  
  
Anya gasped as she heard something explode not twenty feet away from her, and whirled around. Ignoring the glass and her blood, the trainer stared, Sano's ball in her hands.  
  
"S-Sano?!"  
  
The Bishonen stood in the doorway, panting and holding his side as though he had a stitch there. For a moment, he merely stood there. Then he smirked, raised one hand in greeting, and spoke.  
  
"Hey, Anya."  
  
~*~  
  
Kara's heart felt like it was about to explode.  
  
It was pounding so hard in her eardrums, she could swear everyone else in the lab could, too. She wondered why no one laughed at her fear.  
  
/I'm going to get caught. /  
  
And not only that, but she had no one to protect her now. All she had was herself, with a loaded gun pointed at her face.  
  
She swallowed as she heard someone- no, a number of people- racing through the hallways nearby. She closed her eyes, willing herself to disappear before anything could happen to her.  
  
/Please, no. It wasn't supposed to be this way.../  
  
She barely heard someone speak over her beating heart. "You are a Heero Yuy?"  
  
"I belong to a kidnapped trainer here, Anya," he responded. Kira felt her nose being nudged by the gun. "This is the 'scientist'-" he said this with a touch of a sneer in his voice "- you seek."  
  
There was a pause, then, "I see."  
  
/No no no no no NO NO NO! / Kara's mind cried.  
  
She snapped her eyes open just as she felt cold metal slap itself about her wrists. She looked up, pleadingly, into a policeman's face.  
  
"Former trainer Kara," the policeman stated. "You are under arrest."  
  
~*~ 


	41. Chapter Forty One

Chapter Forty-one- Just Us  
  
Notes-   
  
To trekkie-54- THANK YOU! That was exactly the response I was going for.  
  
To all- Sorry for freaking you all out. Things'll be a bit happier here. (Frowns when people still rant about how freaked they were) Hey, my original plan was to make her go back! I'm being nice to you all! So there! Hmph.  
  
Ano, in case anyone was wondering, this story is getting VERY close to ending. Like, as in one or two more chapters close.   
  
WARNING- Semi-sappiness. FEAR MY ATTEMPTS AT SAPPINESS! FEAR ME! MWAHAHAHA (coughs, hacks) hahaha... ha?  
  
~*~  
  
"You look terrible."  
  
Anya blinked at that, finally returning to her senses, and glanced down at herself. She blushed slightly at the realization that she'd been staring- she'd probably been gaping like an idiot- and glanced over herself for an instant.  
  
Yep, she did look pretty bad. Felt pretty awful, too. The cuts in her arms and legs weren't getting any better, and it wasn't any fun having glass digging into your skin, either. Not to mention that her head was still pounding slightly from all of the pain that she had been feeling before the barrier had broken.  
  
Finally, she looked back up at her Bishonen. While not bleeding or even cut anywhere, his knuckles were a bright red from blasting open every door he'd come to. He had bruises all over his face, and seemed to sway slightly in her view. Then again, that could just be her eyesight failing...   
  
"You don't look so pretty yourself," she mumbled.  
  
His smirk faded into a concerned frown as he ran to her side and knelt, looking over her. "No, you definitely don't look good," he observed. "Anya, I thought you knew better than to get yourself hurt like this."  
  
"Well, excuse me for wanting to make sure you guys wouldn't go mad. I didn't know any of you were nearby."  
  
Sano frowned at her. "You're gonna have to apologize to Heero, then. He was badly hurt when you freed him. Who else did..." He noticed the other shattered Bish-balls. "DAMN! I was just in time from you making a very big mistake, wasn't I? You IDIOT!"  
  
Anya "eep"-ed and proceeded to duck behind the destroyed table, peeking out at her Bishonen timidly as he continued to rant at her.  
  
"Didn't I tell you? Or did you never listen to me? Didn't I tell you that you weren't going anywhere? Didn't I tell you that you weren't supposed ta friggin' let me go unless I ASKED ya to?! What is WRONG with you?! You... you..."  
  
Anya shifted slightly, trying to get some weight off of the cuts, and ending up merely sitting on more of them. "Ow."  
  
Sanosuke immediately forgot that he was mad at her and hurried over to where she sat. "Are you all right? What the hell did you do this time?" he asked, looking over her cuts. "We need to get you to a hospital. You look really bad."  
  
"Thanks, I noticed."  
  
He shot her a flat expression. "Damn it all, Anya-"  
  
"Damn it all, Sano," she agreed.   
  
The two stared for a while. Then Anya laughed a little and he hung his head. "Idiot," he muttered. He carefully picked up her Bish-belt, Dex, and Balls, shoving them into his pockets. Then he reached out to pull her towards him by the shoulders. A little surprised by this action, Anya let herself fall against his chest, wincing at her muscles protesting.   
  
The Bishonen gave her a small hug, then lifted her carefully as he stood.  
  
"I thought you weren't going to ever carry me," Anya teased lightly.  
  
"This is an exception. Don't get used to it. I ain't carrying your fat ass around all your life, you know," he answered.  
  
She hit him on the head, and it was his turn to grin. She had to smile back at him.  
  
Sano lowered his head to rest his forehead gently against hers for a moment, closing his eyes. Anya blinked again at the action, then decided not to tease him about it and closed her eyes as well, enjoying the feeling of being near someone who cared.   
  
Then, "I was worried as hell," Sanosuke admitted.  
  
"Me, too."  
  
"I... well, I thought I wouldn't see ya again, when ya were releasing Heero and all. I nearly @%@& myself," he continued quietly.  
  
"Me, too," Anya replied with a smile. She opened her eyes slightly to look at her Bishonen.  
  
"It's..." He gave a small smile himself. "I'm just glad you're okay."  
  
"Me, too."  
  
Sanosuke pulled back to give her a mock glare. "Aren't ya gonna say anything else? Just 'me, too'?"  
  
"Me, too," Anya teased, laughing.  
  
"Damn it all! Anya, you're ruining everything here!" His glare turned into a slightly wounded expression. "I'm trying to have a moment here, you know."  
  
"A moment? What kind of moment?" Anya asked. She raised her eyebrows a bit and tilted her head.  
  
Sano started for the door. "A MUSHY moment, if you must know," he said, still sounding hurt. "You ruined it all, Anya. It's all your fault."  
  
Anya's cheeks heated slightly at that. /Mushy...?/ "Well, I'm sorry, Sanosuke," she said, keeping up the banter.  
  
"You damn well better be."  
  
"Do you want to try again?"  
  
Sano stopped just short of the door to look at her again. "What?"  
  
"I asked you if you wanted to try having a mushy moment again."  
  
"Oh." Sanosuke blinked, as though suddenly not sure what he was supposed to do. Then he said, a tad too casually, "Oh yeah, sure. Sure, no problem."  
  
The Bishonen stood still for a moment, just watching her in his arms with an unreadable expression. Anya stared back for a while, then asked, "Well?"  
  
"Well what?"  
  
"Are we gonna have a mushy moment or not here? If you don't hurry up I'm gonna go find Chiri and see if-"  
  
"Damn you, you have to wait for that moment!" Sano growled. His grip tightened on her. "You don't just say, 'Oh hey, let's have a moment right here and now,' ya gotta wait for it like everyone else."  
  
"No I don't."  
  
"Oh yeah? How come?"  
  
"I'm special."  
  
Sanosuke sweat-dropped, and Anya laughed again. "You are impossible," he stated.  
  
"Yuppers."  
  
"And annoying."  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Not to mention an idiot."  
  
"Hey, I resent that!"  
  
"And the most amazing person I've ever met..."  
  
Anya paused, blinking at him. Her sarcastic response went right out the window when she heard what she thought he had just said. "Uh... run that by me again?"  
  
He smiled at her. "I said that you're the most amazing person I've met."  
  
"Oh... uh, thanks..." She looked away, blushing slightly.  
  
There was a long pause. Then, "So, Anya... wanna go have something to eat sometime? Just, ya know, just two of us. I ain't willing to pay a big bill or anything, but..."  
  
"Sure. Why not?" she asked, copying his earlier too-casual voice.   
  
He rested his forehead against hers. "Just us?"  
  
"Yeah, sure, just us."  
  
Sanosuke smiled. "Thanks, Anya. Let's go find Heero and get outta here."  
  
"Sure."  
  
Sanosuke gently shifted her in his arms and turned back to the door. Anya held on by his neck, and, considering where she was at the moment, she couldn't help but notice her first Bishonen grinning like an idiot as they left the room where Anya had been held captive.  
  
"Hey Sano?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"It'll have to be after I get everyone back."  
  
"I figured that."  
  
"...And Sano?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Can we do it after I've eaten? I'm really hungry..."  
  
She got smacked on the head for that.  
  
~*~  
  
Steve skidded to a stop when he found the corridor he'd been in an hour or so ago, panting hard. He held Skuld's Bish-ball in his hand, having finally been able to coax her to help him out.  
  
However, when he saw the current situation his jaw dropped.  
  
Thatz sat on his bedroll, looking confused and complaining that he wanted to know what was going on. A few trainers he didn't recognize were standing around talking about something, looking grim. Heero and Sano were nowhere to be found, though he did see Washu and...  
  
And...  
  
Steve's Bishoujo-loving heart thought it would burst open when he spotted the Bishoujo he'd worked so hard to find and capture.  
  
"A Megumi," he breathed.   
  
At that, everyone looked up.  
  
"Steve, you're back," Washu said, smiling. "Sorry, you missed the train. A trainer called Jessica popped up with a Shin and they're already off to help Anya out. Left a short while ago."  
  
Said trainer was too busy gaping to care.  
  
"Ano..." Washu sweat-dropped, and poked her trainer with her frying pan. "Steve? Calling Steve, this is the home planet. Are you still with us?"  
  
"Megumi-sama..."  
  
She hung her head. "You know, something tells me I shouldn't be surprised," she muttered. Then she looked up. "Oh, by the way, there was an announcement a few minutes ago," she said offhandedly. "If we don't make it to the stadium in about twenty minutes, we're gonna be disqualified and they're gonna move to the next pair."  
  
"Ehehehe... WHAT?! AND WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Steve asked, suddenly coming out of his daze.  
  
"Anya has help. Bishies are fine. Get disqualified in twenty minutes. Leaving?" Washu inquired.  
  
"Leaving," Steve agreed, shoving Skuld's Bish-ball into his pocket and completely forgetting about her.   
  
"Leaving?" the redhead trainer looked confused. "You just got here."  
  
"And you didn't even say who you are," the other trainer added, looking mildly hurt.  
  
Steve ignored them. "BUT FIRST!" He pointed a dramatic finger at Megumi. "Megumi! I challenge you!"  
  
"Oh, great..." Washu sighed. "Yup, there goes the tournament. I dunno how he lived through Skuld's wrath, but if she learns we were late to a fight there will be hell to pay."  
  
However, Megumi merely sniffed and smirked. "And why would I accept your... challenge?"  
  
"Because I've been searching for you for ages!"  
  
"Hmph. You haven't been doing a very good job, have you?" she asked coolly.  
  
"Wha? I.. well... that's not the point! You've finally appeared, and I will not allow this opportunity to pass!"  
  
Megumi sighed. "You trainers are so bull-headed. But very well, if it amuses you. Washu, if I may...?"  
  
"Eh?" Washu blinked, then handed over her frying pan. "Don't dent it! It's brand new!" she warned.  
  
"Hai, hai. I'll be careful." Megumi took up a fighting stance, readying her frying pan. "All right, come at me."  
  
"Ano... I meant a battle with one of my Bishoujo," Steve said.  
  
Megumi sniffed. "What a waste. To think you depend on another to fight for you." She stood and shrugged. "Ah, it cannot be helped," she said sadly. "Trainers are so weak..."  
  
"Weak? Ha! I think not!" Steve struck a pose. "I shall defeat you on my own then!"  
  
Washu buried her face in her hands. "This does not bode well..."  
  
The other trainers merely watched in mild amusement.  
  
The battle was a quick one, and painless; well, it was painless for Megumi. In about two minutes, she had delivered a blow to Steve's head that caused him to @_@ and fall over, unconscious. Some of his Bish-balls were knocked out of his belt and rolled about on the floor, becoming a fire hazard.  
  
Megumi smirked, and tossed her hair. "What did I tell you?" She handed the frying pan back to a mortified looking Washu. "Arigatou."  
  
She looked around at the other trainers and Bishies, then shrugged. "If I may. I have done all I wished here."   
  
With that, she turned and started to walk away.   
  
Then, "EEK!"  
  
She slipped on one of Steve's Bish-balls, and started to fall. Washu and one of the trainers- the redhead- rushed to help her when she disappeared into the ball.  
  
The ball shook once, twice, then stopped.  
  
"..."  
  
There was a long silence in the hallway. Then Washu punched a hand halfheartedly into the air. "Yat...ta?"  
  
"You'd best be going with your trainer," the redhead trainer observed. "Otherwise you'll never make it to your match."  
  
Washu's eyes widened. "Oh, that's right!" She quickly did away with her frying pan, picked up the Bish-balls scattered on the floor, and proceeded to drag her trainer down the hallway. "Bye now!"  
  
"..." There was another long silence.  
  
Then the redhead- Bryanna- turned to the others and shrugged, smiling. "Well, that was special, ne?"  
  
Her Yami Malik snorted, looking disappointed that things were turning out for the best, and started off in the opposite direction.  
  
~*~  
  
Jessica looked up in relief as Sanosuke finally returned with Anya in his arms. "Oh, good, you got her!" Then she frowned. "Oh, not so good. She looks awful!"  
  
"I'm right here, you know," she drawled.  
  
"Thank Kami-sama," Heero murmured, and stood to walk over to her. "Anya... you are an idiot. You know that?"  
  
"People certainly seem to be calling me that lately, yeah," Anya replied, giving a sheepish smile. Then she winced. "Ow..."  
  
"Where's Shin?" Heero asked, glancing back at Jessica.  
  
She laughed and scratched her head. "Shin's still a bit mad at Hiei. The cops are waiting for him to finish up the demon before they take him and his trainer to LSS and Tokio-sama for judgement."  
  
"Kara? She's been caught then?" Anya asked.  
  
"Yep. Unfortunately, I wasn't given a chance to wring that @^@^*&@-#@%&*#!-@&%@^(^-ing @&%@$@'s neck, but... maybe next time!" Jessica ^_^ed. "I doubt I'd have gotten the chance to anyway, though... since we just released all the other trainers and Bishies here, they've been out for her blood too. They're all being questioned by the police now."  
  
Anya and her Bishies sweat-dropped. "Oh, okay..."  
  
Heero turned to Anya then, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well?"  
  
"Well what?" Anya asked. She was busy trying to rip off another bit of her shirt to wrap around the worst of her cuts.  
  
Heero sighed and pulled out a roll of gauze, helping her wrap it around her arms for a moment. "Are you going to capture me again or not?"  
  
"Eh?" She raised an eyebrow. "You don't wanna run off and frolic with your free Bishonen friends?"  
  
The GW Bishonen gave her an unreadable expression. "I do not... 'frolic', Anya," he replied.   
  
"All right, all right," she sighed. "Sano, can you...?"  
  
"Yeah." He pulled out an empty Bish-ball and handed it to her.  
  
"Thanks." She smiled and held out her hand with the Bish-ball. "Heero?"  
  
He nodded and poked the opening part with his finger. An instant later, he was sucked in, and captured without a fight (what a shock!).  
  
"Uh... Yatta? I caught my second Bishie... again? Yay?" Anya sweat-dropped, then released Heero again.  
  
"Thank you." Heero turned back to Jessica. "Where is your Shin? We must return to the tournament."  
  
Anya gaped. "You mean that's still going on?!"  
  
Jessica nodded. "We heard the announcements about an hour ago, about you and some other trainer not showing up for a battle."  
  
"Really now. Well, where IS your Shin?"  
  
"I'll call him." Turning away, Jessica proceeded to carefully step through the Hiei-shaped holes that now stood in the walls, calling for her Bishonen.  
  
Anya sweat-dropped again. "You guys have been busy, haven't you?"  
  
"Well, they have," Sanosuke said, shrugging. "Heero and I were busy in La-La Land at the time."  
  
Anya gave him an odd look.   
  
"What?"  
  
"I never expected a Rurouni Kenshin Bishonen to say 'La-La-Land'. It's very... disturbing. Don't do it again?"  
  
"You're no fun, Missie."  
  
"Hmph." Anya turned to smile at Heero as Jessica returned, pulling a kicking Shin by the ear. "Well, I'm glad you two are okay. Sorry if I worried you."  
  
"Your almost-final mission's cause was understood," Heero said. "However... don't do it again."  
  
"'Kay." Anya leaned back into Sano's chest, ^_^ing.   
  
Sano shifted. "Stop that, Missie."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You're turning into a fangirl. Stop it."  
  
Anya pretended to pout, poking him in the chest. "And what's wrong with that?"  
  
"Poke me again and I drop you off this mountain, I swear to Kami-sama."  
  
"Betcha wouldn't."  
  
"Bet I would!"  
  
"Too."  
  
"Not."  
  
"TOO!"  
  
"NOT!"  
  
"Ano... can we leave now?" Jessica asked, sweat-dropping.  
  
Anya looked away from her first Bishonen, and nodded. "Uh-huh... Oh, wait! Can your Shin take me to my other former Bishies so I can catch them again?"  
  
"Course he can- Oh, I found something that looked kinda weird, so I wanted to bring it by and see if you recognized it."  
  
"Huh? What?" Anya asked.  
  
Jessica walked over to a corner and pulled out a staff, a dark blue cloak with white bubbles on it, and a very familiar hat.  
  
"Chiri's stuff! Wow!" Anya said. "How did you-"  
  
"I didn't know for sure, but I thought it was weird since there was no Chichiri with it," Jessica explained. "Call it a hunch."  
  
"Indeed I will! Arigatou!" Anya held out her hands, and Jessica handed her all three items. The injured trainer winced, and said, "You know something? Can you guys just drop me off at the hospital for healing while you pick up Chiri, Thatz and Kenshin?"  
  
"They can, but I'm hanging with you," Sano said quickly. Heero merely rolled his eyes and nodded.  
  
"Do you have any idea where they could be?" Shin asked.  
  
"Um..." Anya considered it. "Well, Chiri's on an ice mountain somewhere. And Kenshin's in some forest that looks really familiar to me, but I can't place it... and I dunno where-"  
  
"Thatz is back at the stadium," Heero interrupted. "We were being cared for by a Washu, a trainer named Steve, and..."  
  
"And someone else," Sano added thoughtfully. "She sounded really familiar, but it's all a blur right now... Funny thing is, I thought it was Anya at first."  
  
"She had long dark hair."  
  
"Yeah," Sano agreed. "And she was definitely a Bishoujo."  
  
"Okay, okay. Healing now, talking later," Anya said, wincing as Chichiri's staff dug into her wounds.  
  
"Deal. We'll take you to the hospital, then we'll ask around for information on the others," Sano said.  
  
With that, Shin took hold of everyone present and concentrated. Within the moment, there wasn't a living being in sight.  
  
~*~  
  
...Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that you could recapture your Bishies, just as long as you always have at least one captured to make sure you actually stay where you are. ^^; Hope you enjoyed! 


	42. Chapter Forty Two

Chapter Forty- Two- Home  
  
To Little Kitsune- You asked me a question about my story length and how I managed to write so much. Well, when I started out writing multi-chapter stories I made a promise to myself, so to speak; a promise that I would never put out a chapter less than five pages. I still try to do at least five pages, but only at a minimum.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
~*~  
  
Chichiri slowly opened his eyes, wondering why he wasn't dead.  
  
The Bishonen was certain he should have frozen out in the cold. Even without the pain and the need to return to his trainer, he had still been without enough energy for dealing with the cold, and had collapsed.  
  
Yet... he felt his fingers warming. Never mind that, he could feel his fingers again! That was enough to confirm his suspicion that he was still alive.  
  
Slowly, he sat up and looked around himself.  
  
He was apparently in a tiny shack, a run-down thing too small to be a cottage but too big to be called a lean-to. The wood on the walls was only being held together by the shack's insulation, and the roof creaked warningly under the huge pile of snow on top of it.  
  
For Chichiri knew the storm still surrounded him; it was merely outside now.  
  
The Bishonen noted then that there was a fire going in the center of the... er... building he was in; not a very big one, since the wind kept blowing into the shack to disrupt the crackling of the flames. But it was warm, and it was dancing merrily, welcoming him from his cold slumber.  
  
Chichiri had to smile, relieved, and scooted forward so he could warm himself further.  
  
"Awake? Great!"  
  
The Bishonen started, then turned to see a human girl watch him interestedly. "Ano... da?" he asked, confused. "Where did you pop up?"  
  
"I've been here the whole time," she said. "Don't tell me you didn't notice."  
  
He mentally berated himself for not sensing her as he replied, "No, not really. Who're you? Did you save me, no da?"  
  
She nodded, looking quite proud of herself. "I found you out there when I was looking for clean snow to melt- for water, y'know," she explained. "I saw you and figured that you wouldn't appreciate being turned into a Popsicle, and dragged you in here."  
  
"You're right, I had no desire to freeze into an ice cube." He gave a small bow from where he sat, wincing at the still-numb areas on his body. "Arigatou, no da."  
  
"No problem."  
  
Suddenly, alarm bells rang in his mind. "Wait, you're a trainer. You didn't...?"  
  
"Trainer?" The young woman looked puzzled. "What's that?"  
  
He blinked. "You know, trainer? Bishonen? Bishies?"   
  
She stared blankly at him.  
  
"No da?" he added weakly.  
  
Now she blinked. "I did click on a link on a website," she said thoughtfully. "But I thought this was all some weird dream of mine."  
  
"It's no dream, no da."  
  
"So am I really a trainer?"  
  
Chichiri sighed. Despite his relief at the fact that he was still obviously free from a trainer at the moment, he had to feel exasperated at her cluelessness at the same time. "Oh, boy," he muttered to himself. Louder, he said, "You will be, once you get to a human city. How long have you been out here, no da?"  
  
"I think a few hours. Maybe a day, I'm not sure. But I was on a camping trip, see, and I had my emergency stuff in my lap when I clicked on the link on my laptop. So I knew how to make a fire and stuff. Thankfully I found this place before I turned into a Popsicle, too," she added ruefully. "That would have been unpleasant."  
  
"Undoubtedly, no da."  
  
The two sat for a while, immersed in a silence that was slightly awkward. Chichiri focused his good eye on the fire, reaching out now and then to pick up a nearby stick and poke the fire. The young woman watched Chichiri, apparently trying to figure something out.  
  
Finally, Chichiri said, "So what is your name? I never caught it, no da."  
  
"Oh! Sorry, I'm SakuraKaze."  
  
"Pleased to meet you, no da. Name's Chichiri."  
  
"Hi, Chi-"  
  
The two were interrupted when they both saw the air shimmer in front of them, directly over the fire. After a moment, three figures landed on top of said fire, and the light went out for a second.  
  
Then,  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A violet-skinned, white-haired Bishonen leapt off the fire, shoving his companions off of him as he desperately sought something to ease the burns on his front.  
  
A young girl, the Bishonen's trainer, laughed and pointed outside the shack. "Out there, Shin," she told him.  
  
He didn't have to be told twice; Shin raced out of the shack to dive into a pile of snow.   
  
Chichiri blinked, then turned to see the trainer and the other Bishonen. Then he blinked again. Then once more. "Heero?" he asked incredulously.  
  
Said Heero Bishonen turned to him, and nodded once. "Hn."  
  
"Good thing we found you," Jessica declared.  
  
"What are you doing out here, no da?" Chichiri asked. "And..." He squinted at Jessica. "Don't I know you?"  
  
"I'm a friend of Anya's, we only met once or twice," she replied. "Jessica's the name. Anyway, we thought you'd like to know that Anya's safe now."  
  
Chichiri visibly brightened. "Glad to hear. Where is she?"  
  
"She's getting treated at a hospital near where the tournament's being held. Don't worry, she's just a little beat up. Anyway, she sent us to find you." Jessica then frowned. "Hey, don't you Chichiris have masks or something?"  
  
The Bishonen lowered his eyes. He'd forgotten... "Gomen. I lost it in the storm, no da," he said apologetically.  
  
"Oh, don't be sorry! You look really cool without it!" Jessica assured him.   
  
Chichiri smiled. "That's kind of you to say."  
  
"So, uh... who's this person with you?" Jessica turned to SakuraKaze.  
  
"Hi, I'm SakuraKaze, a new person! Chichiri tells me I'm a trainer!" said young woman told Jessica cheerfully.  
  
"Oh, good, so she didn't catch you," Jessica said with obvious relief. "Anya would've been pissed."  
  
"...Ano, who is this Anya person?" SakuraKaze questioned.  
  
"My trainer," Chichiri told her, smiling.  
  
"Hn," Heero said pointedly.  
  
"Oh, right, she's Heero's trainer too. So..." Chichiri squinted slightly at Jessica. "Anya really sent you guys, no da?" Jessica nodded. "She wants me back, no da?"  
  
Another nod. "But she wanted me to say that if you don't want to come back then you don't have to. She'd just miss you-"  
  
Chichiri shook his head. "As though I would actually refuse to come back to her? Please, take me to her no da!"  
  
"I thought you'd see it that way!" Jessica said. She then turned to SakuraKaze. "Ne, why don't you come back with us? You can get to an Orientation building from there. We can get you some money so you'll be off to a good start."  
  
SakuraKaze shrugged. "Sure, why not? It'll beat staying here by myself, that's for sure."  
  
"That's the spirit! Shin? Shin, you recovered yet?" Jessica called into the snow pile.  
  
"Ugh, not real-"  
  
"Great! We gotta go and find Anya's Bishie, Kenshin. Then we gotta pick up Thatz, and get to her."  
  
"But-"  
  
Jessica cheerfully marched out into the freezing weather, dragged Shin in by the leg, and dumped him unceremoniously in front of a sweat-dropping Chichiri. "Okay, let's go now."  
  
Shin sighed, trying not to harm his burned areas while standing. "All right, all right," he surrendered. "Everyone, please take a hold of me."  
  
Jessica smirked. "Why, SHIN!"  
  
He blushed, turning an odd shade of pink. "You can shut up, unless you want to stay here."  
  
"Okay, okay." She latched onto one arm, grabbing Heero by a hand (making said Bishonen look a little bemused). "Come on, SakuraKaze!"  
  
"Sure!" Said newbie caught hold of the other arm.  
  
This led Chichiri with a rather odd and awkward situation. He could hold on to one of the girls, but he wasn't the type of Bishonen to just grab a woman! Nor could he bring himself to grab Shin by the hair or a leg.   
  
Finally, he went to SakuraKaze and politely asked to hold onto her. She agreed, and he lightly touched her shoulder.  
  
With that, they disappeared.  
  
The wind about the shack howled, disappointed in its sudden loss of victims. The shack shuddered, but held strong, waiting for the next arrival to show up.  
  
~*~  
  
"Kara, you got a visitor."  
  
The young woman looked up from where she lay sprawled on the bed, quickly wiping at her face and assuming her best, bored expression as the door to her prison opened.   
  
Well, it wasn't that much like a prison; at least, not like the ones back in the home world. Kara's prison was actually a pleasant hotel room, with television, radio, and nice facilities open for her exclusive use. The only problems were that she wasn't allowed near a computer and couldn't leave the room (she'd been stuck in it for the past three days).  
  
Her expression, however, changed into that of blatant shock before she could stop herself. "Eclipse?" she blurted.  
  
The demon Bishonen gave her a look of cool disdain. "So this is where you have fallen. Soon to be dismissed from this world," he said.  
  
"Eclipse," Kara whispered, and a sense of hope filled her. "Sir, demon, you have powers granted to you that no ordinary human can handle."  
  
"The answer is no, human," he said. "You failed in such a trivial issue..." he spread his hands mockingly. "How can I trust you to complete the mission you promised me, when such a small thing slipped from your hands?"  
  
"But it was such a small thing, something so small it was too hard to grasp," Kara said desperately. "Get me outta here. My computer-"  
  
"Has been utterly destroyed. As have been all your files. The leaders of this world, LSS-san and Tokio-san, are not as stupid as you would like to think." Eclipse seemed to inspect the room for a moment. "In any case, I merely wished to deliver my message of hope."  
  
"Message of... hope?"  
  
"That you have a good trip back to your world." With that, he turned and left.  
  
"Wait, E-"   
  
Kara let the call die on her lips as the hotel door closed and locked itself again, effectively blocking out any cry she could have made. Once again, the only living thing in the room was herself.   
  
"DAMN it," she swore, and looked around for some way to escape.   
  
The authorities had closed her up in a room without windows, and had made sure that she could not escape through a hole either in the ventilation or the ceiling. All sharp objects were gone from the room. Her only possible weapon would be a plastic knife. She didn't even have a chair to destroy; everything was tied or nailed down to the floor or the ceiling.  
  
Thus, Kara spent a few moments shrieking curses at the door and punching and kicking at anything that got in her way. Then she fell on the bed and started to weep again.  
  
"I was so close..."  
  
~*~  
  
"So it wasn't your trainer, de gozaru yo?" Kenshin questioned.  
  
His son shook his head. "No. Like I said, it was a Hiei Bishonen working for someone who was trying to create more halflings, that it was," he explained.  
  
"Mm." Kenshin nodded, closing his eyes. "Good. I was afraid I had misjudged that young human, de gozaru na."  
  
The two were interrupted by loud shrieking noises coming from within the dojo, as well as equally loud- perhaps louder- sounds of wood smashing against wood; and sometimes flesh. A ringing, "ITAI!" echoed through the house, making both Kenshin Bishonen cringe.  
  
"Mother?" the younger asked.  
  
His father nodded. "Training Yahiko, I believe."  
  
"A poor soul, that he is."  
  
"Indeed."  
  
The two cringed again at more shrieks.  
  
"Ah, well. That's Kaoru for you, de gozaru yo!" Kenshin announced. "She's actually very mild for one of our Kaorus. You should keep an eye out for one like her," he told his son.  
  
Said younger Bishonen shuddered. "I think I'll wait a while longer, that I will," he replied.  
  
Kenshin shrugged, and was about to suggest they have tea while waiting for his wife to finish her lesson with Yahiko before they heard a number of voices coming from down the road a ways. Curious, father and son peered out of their home to see three- no, four- people scrambling off of each other.  
  
The younger Kenshin's eyes widened.  
  
"Heero! Chichiri-san!" he called, and hurried down the road towards them.  
  
Kenshin blinked at his son's sudden cheerfulness, but decided not to comment on it. Instead, he trailed along behind, cringing again at another resounding shriek from within the dojo's halls.  
  
"Kenshin? Is that you, no da?" Chichiri asked, looking up. The Bishonen still didn't have a mask.   
  
"That it is, that it is," Kenshin said, smiling. "It's so good to see you both."  
  
"Indeed," Heero said, nodding.   
  
The only female in the group, who was obviously a trainer, stood to stare at the Heero in apparent shock. "Heero Yuy! Are you admitting to caring about someone?"  
  
"One does get attached to certain Chibis after a time," he said tactfully. "Are we hurrying back to Anya or not? I don't care to repeat the madness anytime soon."  
  
"Nor I, no da," Chichiri agreed with a shudder. "Though I have yet to be re-captured, I don't want that to happen to anyone I know!" He turned to Kenshin. "Look, Kenshin; Anya is safe from the kidnapping woman. You know, the scientist, no da?" Kenshin nodded. "Good. Well, Sano and Heero freed her in time; she'd been trying to let us all go on our own ways so we wouldn't die and all. Anyway, she's in the hospital getting treated right now. She wants us all back so we can continue on traveling together, but it's like a request, not a command, no da. Heero, Sano and I are staying with her. We dunno about Thatz yet. So do you wanna come back with us, no da?"  
  
"Nicely put," Jessica said in admiration.  
  
"Arigatou," Chichiri said modestly.  
  
The other Bishonen with them, a Shin, was too busy healing himself to comment on anything (apparently he'd been burned sometime recently).  
  
The older of the two Kenshin Bishonen frowned slightly as his son turned to him, smiling. "Father, would you mind?"  
  
"I wouldn't mind if you returned to your trainer, de gozaru na. You may want to express your wishes to your mother, though."  
  
The younger Kenshin smiled yet again (a surprise to those who knew him, as he hadn't smiled so much since he was a Chibi). "I don't think she'd let me go, that she would not. I think I'll leave a note instead."  
  
"And leave ME to pick up the broken furniture? Thanks a lot, son, de gozaru yo!"  
  
"So are you coming with us?" Chichiri insisted.  
  
The San staged Bishonen turned to his companions, face returning to its normal serious expression. After a moment, he nodded. "Hai, I will come, that I will... de gozaru yo," he corrected.  
  
"Great! Well, nice to see ya, Sama Kenshin," Jessica said, grabbing hold of Shin and Chichiri. The blue haired Bishonen caught hold of the younger Kenshin in turn. "But ah, no offense but I have no desire to have a pissed Kaoru on my hands. You can write a note for your dear wife, right? Bye!"  
  
"Good-bye, father. It was good seeing you and... well, somewhat seeing mother," Kenshin said. "De gozaru yo," he added quickly.  
  
"It was nice to be with you again, de gozaru na- once you regained your ability to speak, that is," his father said. "I hope to see you again, on better terms."  
  
"Hai!"  
  
With that, they disappeared.  
  
The Sama staged Kenshin sighed as he watched his son disappear with the odd group, and returned to where he had been seated. As he did so, he pondered his ability to allow his son to return to a trainer with such ease. After all, what if that... Anya, wasn't it? .... Had somehow gotten that madwoman upset?  
  
He shook his head. What was done was done, after all, and Kenshin seemed to trust her. As did that Chichiri, who, as Kenshin knew, was a monk type Bishonen. Those types may be eccentric, but they rarely- rather, never- lied.   
  
The Kenshin smiled and looked out at the wilderness near their home. Ah, well. It had been good speaking to his son and knowing that he had been doing well, other than the situation with the madwoman. According to that Chichiri, it was over, so...  
  
"I think I'd like some tea, de gozaru yo," he said thoughtfully, standing up.   
  
It was in that situation that Kaoru found her husband only a short while later; sitting in front of the dojo, drinking tea and gazing out at the wilderness. She came out, looking mildly confused.  
  
"Kenshin, where's Ken-chan? Wasn't he still recovering?" she asked.  
  
"Ah. He's gone out for a while," he said delicately.  
  
"What? Without even asking me?" She glared at him. "That boy's already been in so much trouble lately! How could you just let him wander off?"  
  
"Gomen, Kaoru-chan de gozaru yo."  
  
She sniffed. "Well, we'll have words once he's back and Yahiko's gone home," she told him icily.  
  
He winced. "Yes, dear."  
  
She nodded once. Then she looked at the tea. "Ne, that looks nice," she hinted.  
  
He smiled and poured her a cup of tea. She sat down beside him, accepting the cup, and they spent a few minutes just being together.   
  
After a while, Kaoru asked, "So when will he come back?"  
  
Kenshin had been so relaxed that her new question caught him off guard. "A-ano..." he mumbled.   
  
"Well?" she prompted.  
  
"A-ah, that is, Kaoru-chan..."  
  
"What?" she asked, her eyes suddenly going flat.  
  
"He'll be back, whenever he's freed de gozaru yo!" he said quickly.  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
Then,  
  
"YOU.... YOU BAKA!"  
  
SLAP!  
  
"Oro..." Kenshin @_@ed as he fell backwards, tea spilling all over him.  
  
Kaoru followed him, continuing to beat the life out of him with one hand while the other searched for her sword. "You BAKAYAROU! You... you... you... YOU!" she finally said. "He nearly DIED from a trainer!"  
  
"Demo," he protested. "It wasn't the trainer's fault, de-" SLAP! "Oro..."  
  
"LETTING MY BOY GET CAPTURED! AGAIN! ALL RIGHT, MISTER! MAYBE THE LESSON DIDN'T GET THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL LAST TIME!"  
  
Kenshin winced. /Oh, dear.../  
  
~*~  
  
"Former trainer Kara," came a voice from the door. "It's time."  
  
The experimenter looked up from her tear-soaked pillow as the two creators of the Bishonen world, Tokio-sama and LSS-sama, entered the room. Both looked grim, not showing the least bit of pity for the vulnerable girl on the bed.  
  
LSS looked around at the room with an air of disgust, as though she'd rather be somewhere else. Kara cringed slightly when her eyes fell on the experimenter. Then she lifted her chin, as though daring either of the creators to notice her weakness.  
  
"Former trainer Kara," Tokio-sama intoned, coming towards the bed. She held a small pack in her hand. "You are charged with immoral and illegal interspecies breeding between Bishies and humans."  
  
LSS-sama stepped up then. "You are charged, furthermore, with forcing these species to mate. You are charged with the murder of both full blood Bishonen by way of madness and of half Bishies by way of experimenting further upon them. You have stolen from and slaughtered many, and your sentence is to return to the home world where thirty years in prison awaits you."  
  
Tokio-sama opened the small pack, and Kara found herself watching the creator's actions with a horrified sort of fascination. She held a needle, and was slowly filling it with a sort of liquid.  
  
Without realizing it, the girl Kara swallowed, then allowed two big tears to stream down her cheeks. "Will it... hurt?" she asked softly.  
  
LSS-sama shrugged. "We don't know. People who have it are generally sent from this world permanently."  
  
The girl shuddered. Then she bowed her head.  
  
"I will come back," she stated as LSS moved to catch hold of one arm. "I saved the link, forwarded it to friends, you know."  
  
"Ah." Tokio-sama gave her a small, somewhat sad smile then. "Actually, you won't come back. The link is automatically deleted from your files once you use it. And very few people you forwarded it to will want to speak to you again, anyhow- you being in jail and all." Her expression grew grave. "Farewell, former trainer Kara."  
  
"Farewell, former trainer Kara," LSS-sama echoed.  
  
Kara gave a small, despairing shriek as she felt the needle plunge into her veins. At the same time, she felt a wrench from within, a signal that Hiei had just been released from her Bish-ball. Her only, and best Bishonen was now severed to her.  
  
She disappeared from the Bishonen world forever, weeping and murmuring for Hiei.  
  
~*~  
  
Logan watched all of this from the doorway, watching discreetly as one of his friends disappeared from the Bishonen world forever.  
  
His charges, once he'd been discovered to be part of the whole fiasco, were much lighter than Kara's. He'd merely lost every Bishoujo except for his Rikku, his first Bishonen. Plus, he was forced to remain in custody for two years and all titles of being an elite trainer stripped from him. His files had been removed from all gyms, lest a gym acknowledge him as he had been before.  
  
As the two creators of the Bishie World gave their farewells to his former friend, Logan sighed and murmured, "Goodbye... Kira. I warned you..."  
  
With that, he was tapped on the shoulder by the policeman accompanying him. With another small sigh, he gave the room one last look before heading down the hallway and out the door to his own punishments.  
  
~*~  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer on the screen said. "We regret to inform you that LSS and Tokio-sama are not here to congratulate the winning trainers on the spot; they are dealing with returning a criminal to the real world. However, I have great news! I'M here!"  
  
Sanosuke snorted softly and shook his head at the TV. "He certainly isn't camera shy."  
  
"Not like someone I know," Anya said, grinning.  
  
"You can shut up and keep healing."  
  
"I can heal and talk just fine."  
  
"Anya-dono no da," Chichiri rebuked.  
  
The trainer pouted, but lay back. She then looked around the room at her Bishies.  
  
She had gotten every single one of them back, thanks to Shin, Jessica and Heero. Well, everybody except for Thatz; when the group had shown up to collect him, the group had realized that another trainer (one no one recognized) had caught him. The trainer had offered to free him, but Thatz seemed quite happy with the girl.   
  
/She had a Tasslehoff Burrfoot, too, as I recall,/ Anya mused. /Funny. Wasn't there a trainer I met before who had a Tas? ... Oh well./  
  
Her attention returned to the television just as two trainers, one male and one female, stepped up onto the stage to receive their just reward; that is, the cheering of the crowd. Anya gasped.  
  
"Hey! That's Steve!" she said, pointing at the screen. "Oh my God! Look! He caught a Megumi!"  
  
Sano blinked, suddenly leaning towards the TV. "Hey, the hell'd he capture HER?" he asked, grinning.   
  
"Oh, stop drooling," came a voice from the doorway. "She treated you guys a bit when you were... ill, remember?"  
  
The group in the hospital room turned towards the door. Anya smiled. "Jacky!"  
  
Said trainer smiled and winked. "Heyla. Thought we'd stop by and check in on you."  
  
"Oh, I'm fine. Besides the fact that I HURT LIKE HELL even though they got all the glass outta me, I'm peachy," Anya replied.   
  
Jacky laughed.   
  
"Where's everyone else? I haven't seen a glimpse of anyone since I got into the hospital."  
  
"Well, Kimiko is with MorTae. The two are planning to stop by later." Jacky smiled faintly. "Kimiko wants to split off from us for a while and hang out with her old fried. It's been a bit, ya know?"  
  
"As long as she comes by beforehand," Anya said, smiling back.   
  
"Um... Abby hasn't been seen since you two wandered off that one time. I have heard a number of Bishonen complaining to their trainers recently, however."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"They're going on about how they NEVER want to be out in a public street again, especially if any humans with odd colored hair are out."  
  
Anya blinked. "Oh."  
  
"Yeah." Jacky shook her head. "But that's Abby for you."  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Paul... well, he's busy trying to get his Excel off of the television. He tried a few crowbars, but it didn't work. He even tried an Iilpallazo plushie, but THAT doesn't work since she was seeing the real thing on TV for some reason. Now he's off in search of a REAL Iilpallazo."  
  
"Good luck for HIM."  
  
"He's looking in the sewers right now. I know because he smells." Jacky waved a hand, making a face. "Yuck. He says hi, by the way."  
  
"Okay." Anya watched her friend for a long while. "What about Inuyasha and company?"  
  
"Trying to help Paul. Inuyasha's trying to get Excel off the TV while the others are helping Paul look in the sewers."  
  
"Spiffy."  
  
"I see everyone here has recovered." Jacky nodded to the Bishonen assembled. Chichiri smiled, Sano gave a thumbs up, and Heero and Kenshin nodded.  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
Jacky came into the room and sat in one of the hard chairs people in the hospital seemed to prefer. She looked around the room absently, suddenly going very quiet.  
  
"Jacky?"  
  
She looked up. "Eh?"  
  
"Do you want to split off, too?"  
  
Jacky blinked.  
  
Anya blushed slightly. "You see, I'm gonna be stuck here for a few more days, both to my doctor's insistence and my Bishie's worries." She shot said Bishies a mock-glare. Sano smirked back at her. "So... I wanted to know. We've been here for over a week, and well... I don't know. People who live here seem to like to move, unless they have a job or something."  
  
"Oh. Okay." Jacky thought for a moment. "Well, I can't go anywhere until Paul brings back my Bishies from the sewers. AND I'm not moving an inch down the road until every single one of them has bathed. Repeatedly."  
  
Anya nodded.  
  
"It'll probably take a few days. So... if you'll have me with you guys, I'd like to keep travelling with you."  
  
Anya glanced at her Bishies. "Whaddaya think?"  
  
"Hn," Heero said.  
  
"Sure, no da!"  
  
"As you wish, Anya-dono... de gozaru yo."  
  
Anya turned her eyes expectantly to Sano, who was standing thoughtfully at the foot of her bed. "Well?"  
  
Finally, the Bishonen shrugged. "Sure. Long as what we talked about is still in effect."  
  
"Eh?" Anya blinked, then realized what he was talking about. "Oh. Oh. That."  
  
"Yes, THAT." It was Sano's turn to give her a mock-glare.  
  
"Ano..." Jacky blinked. "'That' what?"  
  
Anya ignored her. "Yeah, don't worry, Sano. It'll go as planned."  
  
"What'll go as planned?" Jacky insisted.  
  
"Well, good to hear- I mean, whatever," he said.  
  
"Damn it all, Sano."  
  
"Damn it all, Anya."  
  
The two blinked at each other, then burst out laughing.  
  
"Eh... something tells me I'm missing something," Jacky said, scratching her head.  
  
"I'm not, no da." Chichiri grinned wickedly and poked Sano's back with his jingling staff. "Sano, you dog you no da!"  
  
"Hey, hey! Watch where ya poke that thing!" Sano said, smacking the offending walking stick.  
  
Heero rolled his eyes and returned to playing solitaire on his laptop, while Kenshin watched him interestedly.  
  
Anya leaned back in her bed, watching as the group continued to fool around. For a moment, she felt a warmth rise up within as she hadn't really had time to sense before.  
  
/It feels... so right here. I'm so glad Sano didn't let me leave this place, / she mused, looking up at the ceiling.  
  
/It feels... good./  
  
/It feels like home. /  
  
~*~  
  
Stay tuned for this author's ramblings next time! (Waves) And perhaps a few sneak peeks into a new project? Or maybe a few explanations? And thanks? (Puts one finger slyly on her nose) You'll have to wait an' see!   
  
Until next time! 


	43. Some Notes

Final Comments  
  
~*~  
  
Hey, everyone! This is Songwind!  
  
Er, no, this isn't a chapter. Chapter forty-two was the final chapter. This is a last peek into THIS story, as well as a few hints to possible future stories.   
  
FIRST THING.  
  
NEW PROJECTS!  
  
A Sequel- VERY likely. Will most likely involve a brand new trainer, though old ones may make a cameo. More high tech stuff, and more arguments about where exactly a half Bishie fits into the world that is the Bishie world.  
  
A Date Story- Someone asked me to write about the date between Sano and Anya, and it's in progress! Two pages have been typed already! Here's a quick peek at the premise; the two go on their date as planned. However, Chichiri decides that he's going to "keep an eye on them"- aka spy on the two- and naturally chaos ensues.  
  
An alternate ending- Someone else asked me to write and send in the original version of that chapter where Anya is stopped at the last minute by Sano coming to the rescue; see, the original beginning was very sad, and different. This will most likely be posted soon. Look for it!  
  
A random idea- Ne, how does a semi-interactive story sound to anyone? No, it's not where I ask your opinions on what should happen; it'll be like where you would have a short chapter to read, then you could choose what would happen. It would basically be a Bishie adventure, but with a couple restrictions (like I make up all the choices, and it's kinda short). I'll only do this if enough people (like all of you) approve. So... what'cha think?  
  
So.  
  
There you have it.  
  
SECOND THING.  
  
I imagine people have/had/will have a few questions regarding this story. Here, I've managed to answer a few of them for you. Enjoy. ^^;  
  
1. Can you forward the link of the website to other people?  
  
As implied by Lady Demoonica Darkmoon in her Bishonen story, yes. However, the link won't likely stay in that person's inbox for very long if that person wasn't chosen by the people who run the Bishie World to come and join the party.  
  
2. What's with the 'No Bishies, not staying in Bishie World' thing?  
  
It's a basic rule I came up with. I mean, what's the point of living in a Bishie World if you don't have Bishies to tag along with you? Besides, capturing any Bishie buddies you may have helps the people running the place keep track on both the human and Bishie population.  
  
3. I'M CONFUSED! WHAT THE HELL IS UP AT HOME WHEN I'M HERE?!  
  
Ano... I call it the 'Cut and Paste Theory', or 'Analogy', or 'Thingy'. For a moment, let's ignore the existence of templates.  
  
Okay. So let's say you have two folders. One is called 'Earth', the other called 'Bishies'. A document with your name on it exists on the one called 'Earth'. You decide you want to move it to 'Bishies.' So, you cut the document and paste it where you want to go, and you're now in the 'Bishie' folder. Simple, right?  
  
Now, let's look at the Earth folder, and recall that templates exist. The master computer- aka the universe- will know you were once in that folder, and will place templates or some other such data in there to remember your document by. The other documents 'living' in the 'Earth' folder will be intact, not remembering or not caring about your previous existence with them.  
  
Let's say you decide to move your file back to the 'Earth' folder. Cut and paste again, and you'll be back in your original folder. For my amusement, let's say it's been about a month since you first switched folders, and all of the documents in the 'Earth' folder have progressed a bit without you. However, you yourself have progressed on your own in the 'Bishie' folder. Therefore, you simply pick up and go along with the other documents that have been there all along.   
  
Of course, there would still be data saying you had been in the Bishie world, but that's a different thing I don't want to get into at the moment. My head hurts enough already.  
  
Cool analogy though, ain't it? ^_^ Came up with it myself.  
  
4. Who came up with the 'Stay this close to your Bishie or else' rule?  
  
Er... that would be me. I figured, hey, why would you WANT to have your Bishies anywhere else but beside you? And it helped develop a plot for the story, too. And that never hurts, in my opinion.  
  
5. Why did LSS-sama and Tokio-sama give Kara that shot? O.o Did they kill her?  
  
No, no, she's fine. Currently residing in jail at home, but fine. There is a loophole in the rules about trainers trying to return to the Bishie world after leaving once. If you forwarded your letter to someone who was considered 'worthy' to enter the Bishie World, or if you printed the link, then you could probably return. The creators of the world recognized this and gave Kara a special shot.  
  
This shot they gave her is a special sort of virus. If she were to try and enter the Bishie World again, despite all the precautions set up against her not getting the link again, then she'd die within the day.  
  
Cruel, but effective. And it keeps the rate of returning evil trainers down.  
  
6. Who's 'Kira'?  
  
(Looks embarrassed) Okay, that was a mess up. Hopefully by now ff.net has posted the corrected versions of that name. That was actually Kara, but for some reason I began to call her Kira. Sorry about any confusion, minna. ^^;  
  
7. So you can recapture Bishes?  
  
Yup, here you can. As long as you have one Bishie with you at all times, you can capture and recapture as many Bishies as you want. And as many times as you want. But I'd advise you against doing so; Bish-balls can get a bit expensive if you have to go and buy new ones all the time. Then your Bishies would get mad at you for wasting that money that could have been used on food.  
  
8. Why did you leave so many threads hanging?  
  
Frankly because those threads are about other trainers, and the main story was based on Anya. Also because some of those threads could hopefully inspire ideas in other writers, as well as in myself should I decide to continue. ^_^  
  
THIRD THING.  
  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed and/or has read this story, whether you were with me since the beginning of you joined up near the end, or somewhere in the middle. It was fun, wasn't it? I had a good time, and by the looks of it you all seemed to have a good time, too.   
  
SPECIAL thanks to-  
  
Nek0-chan- If you hadn't 'not so subtly' told me to update around chapter three, I'd have never dreamed of going this far. (Gives her Yami no Malik plushies) Thank you so much!  
  
SSJHeero- You gave me a lot of constructive criticism, which I deeply appreciated. I like to think that I improved over this story, in writing and in thinking on HOW to write something. So, thanks. Everyone, please read his Bishie story! It's really good!  
  
Lady Demoonica Darkmoon- Wow. You know, at first I was a bit scared at having such a big fan of the Bishie world rooting for me. I was awed when you wanted to write a story based off of my idea. (Points at herself, looking surprised) Me? You mean ME, me? (Grins) Thanks for all your support. And thanks for starting our Bishie Cult, member number 2!  
  
LAST THING- honest!  
  
I want to apologize to everyone for:  
  
1. Not getting everyone in  
  
2. Taking forever to get some people in  
  
3. Etc.  
  
With any luck, I'll be better in my next installment, assuming I begin one. (Grin)  
  
That's it for now, minna.   
  
Thank you, and until next story! (Waves)  
  
~*~  
  
Oh, for just one time  
  
I would take the Northwest passage  
  
To find the hand of Franklin  
  
Reaching for the Sea,  
  
Tracing one worn line  
  
Through a land so wide and savage  
  
And make a Northwest passage  
  
To the sea.  
  
- Due South, Call of the Wild  
  
~*~ 


	44. More Questions to be answered

Question Time Again!  
  
Notes- Er, sorry. This STILL isn't a new chapter or anything. ^_^ Gomen, minna-san! But I got a lot of good questions from a reviewer, and wanted to put the answers down. I'm too lazy to just go ahead and email them to you.   
  
1. Is there an age limit for trainers?  
  
Erm, for the most part, no, though there IS a starter age limit. You have to be, at the VERY least, ten or eleven years old, though the average age of a trainer is in the early teens (13-15). This is simply so that a) the person is mature enough to take care of themselves, b) the Bishies will have some semblance of respect for the person, especially if they only respect people who are older than themselves, and c) that's usually when people tend to get obsessive in a certain way about Bishies.  
  
2. Is it possible that people from a world where bishi already exist (not at all like the Bishi-world) can come to the Bishi-world?  
  
I suppose it would be possible... keep in mind, though, the main means of communication for Bishie trainers to enter the world is by computer, though for people who are less privileged, there can be some exceptions to the rule. As for where Bishies already exist... well, Demoonica-san has a story up as to how a Bishie ends up in the Bishie World at one point. So the answer is yes, though usually the people coming from that world with Bishies come to the Bishie World to BECOME Bishonen or Bishoujo to capture. If that made ANY sense at all...  
  
3. How old was Anya?  
  
About fifteen.   
  
4. Is it possible to catch animals (White Blaze, Kilala, Kero, Luna, Artemis, Diana,Ryo-Oki, etc.) too?  
  
Not directly. Here's how it should go- some Bishies will have their animal companion with them when they get caught. Let's just use Sakura from Cardcaptors as an example. If Kero was with her, then he'll come with you and your Sakura!  
  
5. Who is Legolas and what show is he from?  
  
Not really a show. In case you're not a big fan, he's the blonde elf guy from Lord of the Rings, either the books or the movies that just came out. (Worships Return of the King)  
  
6. Is it possible for a Bishonen and a Bishoujo from two different shows to fall in love? If so, what do you think a male result of a relationship between a Duo and a Serena/Usagi would look like? Would those kind of bishi be catchable?  
  
Yes, it is possible, and yes, they can be compatible for the most part. However, the result would NOT be a normal Bishie- the results of a Duo and a Usagi pairing would look and act by whatever dominant genes they got from their parents, just like humans. Since they're not "normal", these are also considered halflings, and usually are scorned by other Bishies. They're in the minority and are hard to find- some even manage to escape to where most of the trainers come from, while others try to become trainers...  
  
To the person who asked these questions- I hope this helped you out, and I can't wait to read what you've got in mind! (Smile) Ja ne, minna! 


End file.
